Ahern reiterates North deadline warning

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has reiterated his warning that the November 24th deadline for the restoration of the Northern Executive is not negotiable.

"It is not just a date in the calendar and any party that believes the deadline is movable is making a serious error of judgment," he told the Dáil during questions on the North.

Confirming that he and British prime minister Tony Blair would meet the political parties later this month, he said it would be "disappointing if by that stage the parties had not moved beyond procedural wrangling and trench warfare". Time was limited and it was essential that all the parties committed themselves to the process.

"In particular there is an obvious need for the DUP to engage with Sinn Féin. These are the parties with the largest mandates and the largest responsibilities," he said.

Joe Higgins (Socialist, Dublin West) said the Northern Assembly was in a "shambolic situation" and "what is being laid bare is the disintegration of the structures" put in place by the political establishment "on a false basis of institutionalised sectarianism", shown by the "dreadfully tragic death of Michael McIlveen and the growing anecdotal evidence of tensions of a sectarian character within the communities".

Mr Ahern said "the only way to make progress and for everyone to deal with their agendas and issues is on a cross-party basis".

He condemned the "vicious assault" on the son of the North's Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan but welcomed the acknowledgment by the Ulster Unionists that unionist parties had a responsibility to bring loyalist violence to an end.

"It is refreshing and healthy to hear Reg Empey's focus on the responsibility that unionist politicians bear for encouraging groups like the Third Force and Ulster Resistance. It is a signal of recognition of the difficulties of the past."

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny referred to the hijacking of a lorry containing spirits worth millions of euro in Meath in March and the involvement of two IRA members, one of whom had been released early under the Belfast Agreement.

Mr Ahern acknowledged that ongoing criminality was a concern but significant progress was being made in dealing with the issue. "The Sinn Féin leadership has also condemned that criminal activity, an important signal in its own right," he said.