The Northern Bank robbery would have been a "crossroads" in the relationship between Sinn Féin's political leadership and the IRA if the IRA had said they carried it out, Sinn Féin leader Mr Gerry Adams has said.
In an interview in today's Village magazine, Mr Adams said he was "quite frankly beyond caring" whether people believed him or not when he said he did not know about the robbery in advance.
He said he had believed the declarations made to him by a senior IRA figure that the organisation was not involved in the pre-Christmas robbery, which netted the gang more than £26 million in new and used notes.
"If the IRA had told us that they did it then I think that that would have been a crossroads [ in our relationship with the IRA] for the likes of me and those of us who are in the political leadership," Mr Adams said.
The IRA, he said, had waited for days until after the robbery to deny involvement: "So presumably the persons who issued this [ denial] had plenty of time to check the facts," he told Village.
"Clearly this isn't an individual IRA volunteer or something happening in some local command. This is a big operation. For anybody to contemplate within the IRA doing such a job was just to kill off the peace process and one thing that can be said about the IRA leadership is that it is supportive of this peace process," said Mr Adams.
Following repeated questioning, Mr Adams said republicans holding information about the robbers should pass that "to a respected member of the community".
"If they make the judgment that that is a garda, that's fair enough." However, he refused to issue the same call to republicans to pass information to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
"I do have a problem going to the PSNI but if people have information and they feel they should give it to the police, they should give it to a respected member of their community," he said.
Speaking in the Mansion House last night at the launch of a year of celebrations to mark Sinn Féin's 100th birthday, Mr Adams said the party was being attacked by its enemies once more.
"Predictably enough the year begins with Sinn Féin once again under attack. Can any one here remember a time - any time - when the usual suspects weren't lined up against us.
"The political establishment was at it 100 years ago. The media establishment was at it 100 years ago. If those who founded Sinn Féin were alive today and watching recent events they would conclude that the more things change the more some things remain the same.
"Well, those who vilified and excluded us need look no further than tonight as evidence of the failure of their strategy," he told up to 1,000 supporters who attended the gathering.
"We are back in the Mansion House bigger and stronger, and better than ever," said Mr Adams, who warned other political parties that "they have seen nothing yet".
Sinn Féin, he told the gathering which included former taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, and foreign diplomats, must form a cumann in every electoral ward in the Republic, attract more women and promote them.
Gerry Moriarty Northern Editor writes The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahern, and Northern Secretary Mr Paul Murphy will meet in Dublin on Monday to begin charting a way around the current political shambles triggered by the alleged IRA £26.5 million robbery of the Northern Bank.
The issue of possible sanctions against Sinn Féin is likely to arise when the two ministers meet in Iveagh House but no definitive decision will be taken on this matter until after the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair meet at the end of this month or in February, sources said.
Mr Gerry Adams has stated that he expects Sinn Féin to be penalised by the British government over the Northern Bank robbery, and that he also expects the Government to support whatever action is taken by London.
While Mr Adams this week complained that he was being cold-shouldered by the British and Irish governments, Mr Ahern and Mr Blair nonetheless are prepared to meet him in the coming weeks. Mr Ahern's spokeswoman said that the Taoiseach would meet Mr Adams shortly after he returns tomorrow week from his visit to China.