The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, last night pledged "their absolute and unshakeable determination" to defeat those who carried out the Omagh bombing and save the Northern peace process. After a meeting at Stormont, Mr Blair said the Northern Secretary, Dr Mowlam, would meet the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, today.
The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, would will also meet the RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan.
After last night's meeting, Mr Ahern said the Government would have no hesitation "in doing whatever we have to do to deal with these people who have created this terrible mayhem. He said he welcomed the opportunity to meet Mr Blair and to "abhor the terrible cowardly evil act". They had the chance to reflect on what they had to do both immediately and in the future. "The security issues are high on that agenda," he said.
He said the Garda Commissioner and the RUC Chief Constable would "look at what more we can do or what more we must reflect on or what additional powers may be required or whatever else comes within their remit that we need to assist them on.'
Mr Blair said the two governments had agreed "our total shock, horror, outrage at this act of unspeakable evil". They would "work together and do everything that is possible within their power to hunt down those who have been responsible for this outrage". Dr Mowlam and Mr O'Donoghue would "look at all measures necessary and possible in order to deal with this tragedy".
Mr Blair added: "The fact that our two governments are working so closely together is itself a sign of our absolute and unshakeable determination that we will carry on even amidst this tragedy, amidst this grief and an ger at what has happened, that we will carry on ceaselessly, tirelessly working for the future that those who perpetrated this outrage want to wreck."
Mr Ahern said a fringe militant republican organisation wanted to wreck the Belfast Agreement and had been planning an orchestrated attack even before the agreement was reached. He said the agreement would work and the two governments would defeat "these mindless people who do not care about the lives of this generation or the future generations". He looked forward "as soon as possible" to dealing with other aspects of the agreement with Mr Blair, "but first we must deal with the security situation and that we will do very speedily". The meeting between Mr O'Donoghue and Dr Mowlam is expected to take place at Stormont at lunchtime today.
Earlier last night, Mr Blair met the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, who was accompanied by Mr Martin McGuinness. Afterwards Mr Adams repeated his "unequivocal condemnation" of the bombing and called for a meeting of all political leaders in the North "to tell people that we haven't given up, that there is a process to be built".
He called on the First Minister, Mr David Trimble, and the Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, to call an urgent meeting of all political leaders "to try and manage this crisis and to tell people that we haven't given up, that there is a process to be built, that there is a democratic peace settlement to be won". This was the type of example which needed to be given to ordinary people who were demoralised and confused.
Mr Adams said the two governments needed to "chart the course" and to implement the agreement in all its different issues and clauses. "No one should be deflected, they should keep moving forward to bring about the type of settlement, the type of justice that is required." It was not Sinn Fein's responsibility alone to try to persuade "those within the loyalist section or this small republican section or even within the British section who are still engaged in actions but we will do our best".