The RUC and Garda are working together to thwart an attack the dissident Continuity IRA is feared to be planning over the Christmas period, according to RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan.
He said the CIRA, which is not on ceasefire, posed a "significant threat" as it was getting help from members of the splinter grouping, the Real IRA. He also insisted the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries still maintained a threat despite their ceasefires. The IRA was making no obvious preparations towards decommissioning, Mr Flanagan said in an interview with the Times, and he detected "no softening" in its attitude towards getting rid of weapons over recent months.
An IRA convention two weeks ago gave the seven-man army council greater authority to act on its own on the issue without further reference to a wider membership. But the chief constable did not believe there would be a change of heart without the movement's clear support.
"Continuous positive movement in the political process, coupled with international pressure, would weigh very heavily in IRA thinking," he said. "The leadership of the republican movement is determined to avoid significant further splitting."