THE Minister for Justice, Ms Owen, said the report contained challenges for all sides. The following is an edited version of her speech.
"There is no room for an a la carte approach to its findings and no room for approaching it with a win lose mind set. All sides need to accept its challenges as well as its comforts for them.
"By adopting this approach, all sides will win. Decommissioning has not only been a difficult issue to resolve but, until now, it has also been an obstacle to the all party negotiations aimed at a political settlement based on consent, which is the shared objective of both the Irish and British governments.
"The report recognises that those who insist on prior decommissioning need to be reassured that the commitment to of and democratic means by those formerly supportive of politically motivated violence is genuine and irreversible, and that the threat or use of such violence will not be invoked to influence the process of negotiations or to change any agreed settlement.
"The report equally recognises that those who have been persuaded to abandon violence for the peaceful political path need to be reassured that a meaningful and inclusive process of negotiation is genuinely being offered to address the legitimate concerns of their traditions and the need for new political arrangements which they can identify.
"The International Body recognised that that absence of trust and that need for reassurance required new approaches. They have set out the framework for such a new approach, including adherence by the parties to any negotiations to sin principles which would represent ii comprehensive commitment to democracy and non violence.
"The body also draws attention to the value of some decommissioning during the process of all party negotiations in order to build trust and confidence during the process. It also suggests that decommissioning should have a high priority in all party negotiations and provides a basis on which those discussions could take place.
"The Irish Government accepts and agrees with the report and is convinced that it provides the basis for moving forward confidently and with renewed vigour now in the political track so as to reach all party negotiations by the end of February.
"We sincerely urge all of the parties to follow our lead. We urge them to accept the report in its entirety and on its merits. There will be a temptation for parties to find fault with the report because it does not reflect their preferred agenda to the exclusion of others.
"It is incumbent on all parties to resist that temptation because, in the words of the report itself rigid adherence by the parties to their past positions will simply continue the stalemate which has already lasted too long. All parties must, in the interests of all those they represent, heed the advice again in the words of the report itself that reaching across the peace line requires a willingness to take risks for peace.
"We want to see substantive negotiations getting under way by the end of February in accordance with the timetable set out in the joint communique.
"The Government will, therefore, be seeking with the British government to intensify the preparatory talks process, working on the basis of the report and against the background of the very worthwhile discussions which have been ongoing in the political track."