The Taoiseach has vehemently rejected reports that officials of his Department visited members of the IRA Army Council in the North over the weekend.

Mr Ahern told the Dail "there is absolutely no truth in the story" which was reported in a British newspaper yesterday. It had never been Government policy to meet the Provisional IRA and was still not the policy.

He was speaking during the Order of Business, when he also said movement should be possible to resolve the decommissioning issue without suspending the institutions established in the North. "But that is not my call," he said.

A Government backbencher, Mr Sean Power (FF, Kildare South), asked the Taoiseach to confirm Government policy that officials would not have direct contact with paramilitary organisations.

Mr Ahern replied that "the Times in London ran with a very detailed headline and an account that my officials had spent the past few days driving around Northern Ireland to the farmhouses and homes of the Provisional IRA Army Council on my behalf, and that of the Irish Government and this House.

"It received major prominence throughout the morning in the United Kingdom. There is absolutely no truth in the story and rather than staying silent on the issue, I want to say that it is unfair. This matter was raised last week by British media sources.

"I said then that it was entirely untrue. I went to considerable trouble over the weekend to make sure that was the case."

The Taoiseach added: "It has never been the policy of successive governments to meet the Provisional IRA, and it is still not the policy. I do not think it is fair to identify officials, show pictures of them or refer to their names when the story is entirely untrue."

Earlier he was asked by the Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, for a debate if the IRA "does not make the sort of response which now seems absolutely necessary".

Mr Ahern again stressed that the "Good Friday agreement must be implemented in all aspects and that includes the issue of decommissioning". He believed movement was possible to prevent the suspension of the institutions but "that is not my call. It is the call of others and progress is required to achieve that."

The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said the Taoiseach could not change his position on the removal of bombs and guns because his position was that of the people following the referendum in all 32 counties. "It is time for all who are loyal to Ireland to act in accordance with the expressed wish of the people."

Mr Quinn said those who were preventing the implementation of the Belfast Agreement, on the basis that "they are not prepared to dance to somebody else's imposed timetable," were missing the point. The public declared a timetable in the 1998 referendum and "any true republican should surely recognise, support and endorse such sovereignty".

The Fine Gael leader said special attention needed to be paid to internal security in the Government's White Paper on Defence and asked the Taoiseach to ensure the "armed forces" generally were happy with the paper's contents.

Mr Ahern replied that that was what the Government and Minister for Defence had been working towards.