THE Dail is to hold an emergency debate on Northern Ireland today, following yesterday's strong all party condemnation of the IRA bomb attack in Lisburn.

The Taoiseach said the bombing was a cynical betrayal by the IRA of the peace process, completing its terrible triangle. "We have had IRA bombs in Britain, we had an IRA murder in Limerick in the Republic, and now we have had IRA bombs without notice in Lisburn," Mr Bruton added.

The Taoiseach said the Irish News, reflecting mainstream nationalist opinion in the North, had carried a front page editorial entitled: "How the IRA betrayed the people of Ireland.

The betrayal had come from an organisation that had told democratic politicians their original ceasefire would hold in all circumstances. "Now it seems that the IRA intends to continue to maintain the option of violence to be used as and when it is deemed to be politically useful.

The bombing, the Taoiseach added, posed the hard question was the Armalite in one hand and the ballot box in the other the unchanged and unchanging political strategy of the republican movement?

"Was there ever a fundamental departure from that strategy by the movement as a whole? The Irish State cannot be hostage to tactical manoeuvres by a violent movement which is only willing to give up the option of violence if it gets the terms it has dictated to everybody else and is willing to continue to use violence as one of its tactics from time to time to get those terms.

"Those were the classic tactic of national socialists and fascists during the 1920s and 1930s. The strategy of the ballot box in one hand and the gun in the other was, after all, first originated by the Nazis.

"David Ervine is right. These bombers and their supporters also betray the ideals of the great Irishman, Wolfe Tone, who wanted to unite Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter. I believe that we need to send a clear and unambiguous message from this House: violence from any quarter is futile and we do not condone it in any circumstance."

The Taoiseach said that the special debate would provide an opportunity to make it clear that the tactic of violence used by the IRA had no support in the Republic.

He accepted, he added, it was important that the governments must continue to act to give leadership in the political process. As the House knew, and the world knew, the difficulty relating to moving of the talks forward in Belfast was how to deal with decommissioning. The governments had put forward proposals to deal with that, and he invited the parties involved to return to that initiative which was designed to break the deadlock.

Anything the two governments could do would be done. "We are in continuing contact on a daily - almost hourly basis on the evolving situation.

The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, said that his party condemned in "severe terms" the IRA for the "terrible deeds in Lisburn. These were acts against the people of the North, the people of the island and people generally.

He renewed his appeal to the Taoiseach to have a summit meet.ing with the British prime minister, adding there had been a feeling that the process had not been moved forward since September 1st.

The PD leader, Ms Mary Harney, said the admission by the IRA of responsibility for the Lisburn bombing provided a sickening reminder that the organisation intended pursuing violence to achieve its political goals. "We must make it clear to them that they are not going to bomb their way into the talks," she added. "And we must, in particular, appeal to the loyalist parties to resist this clear vocation, which I believe it was."

But equally, said Ms Harney, constitutional politicians and governments must ensure that the peace process and the talks process did not slide into oblivion. She suggested that the two governments, and the two main constitutional parties in the North, the SDLP and the Ulster Unionist Party, should meet under the one roof at a neutral venue and seek to reach a consensus.

It was difficult not to be pessimistic, but they could not allow themselves to let the process die.

Mr Trevor Sargent (Green Party, Dublin North) said the IRA should find no solace, or endorsement through any means, for what, had happened.