The impasse in the Northern Ireland peace process will soon be broken, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, predicted yesterday.
As politicians from north and south gathered at Dublin Castle for the convening of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation for the first time in almost five years, Mr Ahern said he believed devolved government would be restored to Northern Ireland before the deadline set for the Assembly elections next May.
He acknowledged that the process of implementation of the Belfast Agreement had been uneven, but said that had to change. "We need to move that process from the lurching stop-start of the last few years to effective and assured functioning. I believe it can be done so as to ensure that the institutions are restored in good time before the May elections," he said.
He was in no doubt that nationalists, no less than unionists, wanted to see a transition from violence to exclusively peaceful and democratic means being brought to completion and all paramilitary groups becoming a thing of the past.
The republican movement was urged by a number of speakers at the forum to set a date for putting all its weapons beyond use. These included the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, and the Labour Party leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte. Mr Rabbitte said it was largely the fault of the republican movement that the peace process was now in jeopardy.
The forum will focus on overcoming the current difficulties in the peace process. However, no unionists were present.
Mr Ahern said this was a matter of regret. "Their contribution would have enriched our dialogue and added to the ebb and flow of ideas," he said. In addition, he said he believed that the North's Policing Board could be become fully inclusive, including representation from Sinn Féin. That party has refused to nominate a member to the board since it was established to run the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Mr Kenny also called on Sinn Féin to take its place on the Policing Board.
Mr Mark Durkan, SDLP leader and former Northern Ireland deputy first minister, emphasised that the forum was not an alternative to all-party talks and said that nothing at the forum should distract from the importance or detract from the potential of such talks. The forum could, however, complement those talks, he said.
He urged the forum to articulate "a future without paramilitaries".
The Alliance Party leader, Mr David Ford, called on all parties to work for a truly pluralist Ireland, north and south, and for an end to sectarianism.
The Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, said that the forum only had to look at the situation in the Middle East to be reminded of the devastation which had resulted from a failed conflict-resolution process. He said that the present crisis in the peace process was the most serious since the Belfast Agreement was reached. However, the agreement was "the only show in town".
Mr Adams accused the British government of failing to honour the agreement. The forum had to begin by persuading the British government to reinstate the political institutions. The decision to suspend them "in the midst of an ongoing unionist paramilitary murder campaign" was, he said, "disastrous".
Ms Jane Morrice, of the Women's Coalition, said she believed the forum could have done more to make participation more attractive to unionists.
A total of 13 parties were represented at the forum, which is being chaired by Senator Maurice Hayes. Other parties present included the Progressive Democrats, the Green Party, Independent TDs, Independent senators, the Socialist Party, the Workers' Party and the SDLP.