The Taoiseach will tell the Sinn Féin leadership today that the only way of breaking the deadlock in the peace process is for the Provisional IRA to demonstrate that all forms of paramilitarism and criminality have been brought to an end, write Arthur Beesley and Gerry Moriarty.
At what is expected to be a difficult meeting with Mr Gerry Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness in Government Buildings at lunchtime, Mr Ahern will say that the involvement of the IRA in the £26.5 million Northern Bank raid leaves the republican movement with no option but to make a definitive commitment to pursue politics by exclusively peaceful means.
As efforts are renewed to break the logjam, the Sinn Féin leaders will hear the same message from the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, in Chequers on Thursday. "In terms of moving forward, there can be no deal with republicans until there is an end to paramilitary activity and criminality. That is the message he gave over two years ago. He meant it then, he still means it," said Mr Blair's official spokesman.
Mr Ahern will meet the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) on Monday, a day before he meets Mr Blair to assess if any political progress can be made in the short to medium-term.
With Mr Adams predicting that the governments will use the IMC to penalise Sinn Féin over the bank robbery, the meeting today will be the Taoiseach's first face-to-face encounter with Sinn Féin since he said Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness knew in advance that the robbery was being planned.
Despite Mr Adams' demand that Mr Ahern justify this claim, the Government is adamant that the responsibility will be on Sinn Féin to provide explanations about the implication of the IRA in the raid.
Mr Ahern's official spokeswoman would not say whether he would adopt a confrontational tone, although she said his message would be in line with that of other Ministers who have expressed considerable anger with the Sinn Féin leadership over the robbery.
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, last night said republican complaints that others "don't want a Fenian about the place" smacked of self-pitying deception.
Mr Ahern will also meet today with the SDLP and the Ulster Unionist Party. Lord Ballyedmond - the former Fianna Fáil appointed senator, Dr Edward Haughey - will be a part of the UUP delegation.