The Taoiseach's reported comments on decommissioning caused shock waves initially in republican circles although Mr Ahern appeared to mollify the Sinn Fein leadership with "clarification" of his remarks later in the day.
In a statement, the Sinn Fein chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, said he had been "most concerned" at the comments attributed to Mr Ahern in the Sunday Times. "I have now been in direct contact with An Taoiseach and he has assured me that these comments are inaccurate and that they do not reflect the position of the Irish Government.
"Mr Ahern made it clear that he had not said, as was reported, that Sinn Fein should be barred from the executive and he also told me that in the interview with the Sunday Times, he had made it clear there are no preconditions in the agreement," Mr McGuinness said.
At first, republicans were taken aback by the Taoiseach's apparent decision to side publicly with the Ulster Unionists on the arms is sue. The Sinn Fein chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, told BBC1's Breakfast with Frost he would be "very surprised" if Mr Ahern had made such comments. He urged him to clear the matter up quickly because the proposal attributed to him "would mean tearing up the Good Friday agreement".
Privately, republican sources said the Taoiseach's intervention had "serious" implications because it would strengthen the resolve of the Ulster Unionist leader ship on Sinn Fein membership of the Northern executive and provide "succour" to republican dissidents who wished to end the cease-fires. Republican sources said the Taoiseach's words would do nothing to bring about IRA decommissioning, which was out of the question at this stage.
UUP Assembly member Mr Roy Beggs jnr said: "I obviously welcome Mr Ahern's comments that it is not compatible that Sinn Fein should be in government whilst retaining their private army and arsenal of weapons, but I have not heard or seen him say he thought they should be excluded, and already he is backing away from some of his comments." Mr Billy Armstrong, UUP representative for Mid-Ulster, welcomed Mr Ahern's comments. "We all knew that it was the way forward, didn't we? Decommissioning has to happen." Ms Pauline Armitage from the East Londonderry constituency said perhaps Mr Ahern now realised the UUP was serious about decommissioning and would not back down. It was "disappointing" that the Taoiseach was apparently backing away from his initial comments.