The four-strong verification body proposed in the Hillsborough talks could be given extra powers to judge the conduct of Northern political parties, Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble said yesterday.
Speaking in Washington, Mr Trimble said the body could be able to investigate the commitment of political parties to the Good Friday agreement and their involvement in a resumed Assembly, he said. Under the original proposals presented by the Irish and British governments, the body was designed to investigate paramilitary activity and decide on where blame should be levelled.
Mr Trimble said talks were under way between the parties and the Irish and British governments about the role and powers of the body, which will include one representative from the United States.
"It could actually have a broader remit. That is something under discussion at the moment," he said during a question-and- answer session in the National Press Club in Washington.
"The remit of the verification body could extend beyond paramilitary activity to other things, which could be regarded in a broad sense as being acts of completion in terms of the operation of the institutions.
"It is perfectly possible for it to have a broader remit that would bring in areas where there was non-compliance with the agreement. One should not see this as being simply a mechanism directed solely at Sinn Féin and the IRA.
"It could also have a broader remit and effect upon others as well. Of course, we would never dream of constructing anything that could embarrass the DUP," Mr Trimble told The Irish Times.
The Ulster Unionist leader's remarks followed his meeting with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in Washington on Thursday night.
Speaking before he left Washington, the Taoiseach said: "In all my meetings with Northern Ireland political leaders there is certainly a greater level of trust and confidence. It would be over-stretching it to say a total level.
"Certainly, I think that people believe that the proposals that we put at Hillsborough are acceptable with one or two areas of disagreement. I think people are prepared to move on," he said.
Though difficulties remain to be resolved before Mr Ahern and British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair return to Northern Ireland in early April, the Taoiseach said that "compared to the list that was there in October we are down to a few remaining items".
However, Mr Trimble warned repeatedly that future IRA acts of decommissioning agreed with the Independent International Decommissioning Body cannot take place in secret.
Slightly critical of the role played so far by the head of the IICD, Gen John De Chastelain, Mr Trimble said: "He accepted the limitations imposed by republicans because he was so anxious to see decommissioning occur."
Decommissioning will determine whether the Ulster Unionist Executive Council will agree to return to the Assembly.
"If all they do is convince people on their own and not sceptical unionists, then they are wasting their effort," Mr Trimble said.