The day of reckoning was always going to come. The Belfast Agreement was predicated on peace leading to the establishment of all-inclusive political institutions in Northern Ireland five years ago.
It envisaged a devolved government, formal North-South bodies, changes to the Constitution, amnesties for prisoners who had committed the most heinous crimes, a new police service, the dismantling of British military installations, equality and justice for all. And fundamental to all of that was the expectation that the IRA, in time, would signal unambiguously, in word and in deed, that its war was over.
Sinn Féin and the IRA have weaved and ducked in and around democracy over the past five years as they garnered every credit for the ceasefire. The IRA promised to put arms verifiably beyond use, to use its form of words. The paramilitary organisation met the Independent International Decommissioning Body only to break off all contact later. It co-operated with two acts of private decommissioning at times of its own choosing. And throughout all of the trials and tribulations to affect the Agreement and the democratic parties participating in it - particularly the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP - its political wing, Sinn Féin, was consistently rewarded with encouragement from the electorate.
Is it any wonder that the Taoiseach, after a meeting with the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, sent a strong signal from Athens last evening that time is running out? As the fifth Good Friday approaches, it is revealing this time round that it is the two governments, not only Mr David Trimble, who are making the call that the latest IRA statement does not offer sufficient clarity to allow them to sign off on a blueprint for acts of completion on all issues. Seemingly, the customary Anglo-Irish strategy, whereby Mr Blair protects the unionists while Mr Ahern pushes for the republicans, has been set aside. This, in itself, is a tangible measure of the shortfall in the IRA's current position.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, opined last evening that the two governments would have "to call it sooner, rather than later, and not too much longer". Continuing negotiations to drag words and deeds from a reluctant IRA could run the risk of damaging the credibility of the whole process within days.
Acts of completion on all issues outstanding in the Belfast Agreement were called for six months ago. All parties knew what was involved: decommissioning, demilitarisation, policing and the security of the institutions. They had six full months to prepare their bottom lines. If the British government is signing up to a process of dismantling the security apparatus, if policing and justice powers can be devolved over an agreed time, then the IRA must demonstrate clearly, in ways that all understand, that paramilitary activities will cease. The form of words in which they convey that with clarity can be of their choosing.