THERE will be no bending of the principle that violence has no place in any political process, the Tanaiste said.

"Equally, the Governments have, emphasised that they are determined to press on in the search for political agreement, irrespective of whether the republican movement makes it possible for Sinn Fein to rejoin that quest or not."

Nevertheless, said the Tanaiste, a fundamental objective of the peace process had always been to offer a meaningful political alternative to violence. Negotiations conducted on a fully inclusive basis, and in the absence both of violence and of security measures, had always seemed more likely in the long run to produce a stable agreement in which all could acquiesce.

Resuming the debate on Wednesday's communique, Mr Spring said the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister both recognised that confidence building measures would be necessary in the course of all party negotiations.

"Negotiations are a dynamic process, depending on the interplay of personalities and arguments, and not a matter of static calculation. As one such measure, all participants would need to make clear at the beginning of negotiations their total and absolute commitment to the principles of democracy and non violence set out in the Mitchell report," the Tanaiste added.

The Fianna Fail spokesman on foreign affairs, Mr Ray Burke, said that for the past 18 months Sinn Fein, as well as members of the House, had been calling for a definite date for the commencement of talks. Now it was incumbent on Sinn Fein to go back to the IRA army council and demand the restoration of the ceasefire.