THE Tanaiste, Mr Spring, yesterday reaffirmed the Government's commitment to the Northern Ireland peace process, while repeating his call for an immediate reinstatement of the IRA ceasefire as a precondition for Sinn Fein's participation in the political dialogue in Northern Ireland.
Speaking on the margins of a European Union meeting of Foreign Ministers in Rome, Mr Spring said he had a twofold "message" for Sinn Fein in the wake of last Saturday's bomb attack on Manchester city centre.
"One is that the parties who are around the table (in Belfast) are going to redouble their efforts to make sure that we move on with the political process.
"The second message is as clear as ever and it is that if Sinn Fein wants to be part of the political dialogue then the ceasefire has to be reinstated as soon as possible."
The Tanaiste claimed it was more important now than ever that the peace process not "be blown off course" either by the Manchester bombing or by the murder last week of Det Garda Jerry McCabe in Adare.
"There is still a great deal of point in pursuing the peace negotiations. The peace talks are on going in Belfast as I speak and we resume a full plenary session on Wednesday and I think it is incumbent on all the parties to address all the issues to ensure that we are not blown off course either by what happened in Manchester or by the murder in Adare last week . . . Obviously what happened at the weekend was a big setback to all of our efforts but that does not remove the necessity for achieving an end to violence and getting all the parties to talks".