THE DEMOCRATIC Unionist Party freely agreed during the St Andrews talks in Scotland to the transfer of control over policing and justice from Westminster to Stormont taking place on May 8th, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has insisted.
The concession, which he described as "an integral element" of the accord reached at St Andrews that brought the Assembly and Executive back into life, had not been "forced out of anybody", he said.
He made this comment during a speech to the Oireachtas Good Friday Agreement Implementation Committee, which was attended by the SDLP and Sinn Féin, though not, so far, by a member from any of the unionist parties.
"It is an essential element in a process which will give confidence at home and abroad that the Executive can take control of a matter which is so central to the lives of ordinary people.
"Prime minister Gordon Brown and I have both made clear that we consider that the time is right to proceed with this step," he said.
Urging the DUP to accept the devolution deadline, the Taoiseach said: "Waiting in the lane drags things out. All that ever does is pull back from the graciousness of doing something. If you are going to do something, then do it," he told the committee.
Reflecting on the years of Northern Ireland negotiations, Mr Ahern said he had spent a great deal of time looking "at the architecture of the roof" in Stormont, Hillsborough and elsewhere in an effort not to react to obstruction from the other side of the table.
