THE continuing violence of the IRA is keeping Sinn Fein out of the peace process, the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste have said.
Condemning the shooting of an RUC officer in Derry yesterday, Mr Bruton said that with the "recent attack on a Catholic man, the killing of Mr Slane, the burning of churches", it was "a primitive act". Violence had no answers for people and Sinn Fein would be outside the political pale for as long as it continued, he said.
Speaking in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, yesterday, where he was opening a small industries exhibition, the Taoiseach said: "The IRA and Sinn Fein are part of the same movement, the republican movement. The IRA militarily supports Sinn Fein."
Asked for his response to the description as "dangerous" by Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, of his equation of a vote for Sinn Fein with a vote for violence, Mr Bruton asked: "Is he afraid of the truth being told?"
Mr Spring said yesterday's shooting, IRA actions in Britain and shootings on the Border made it "extremely difficult for all of us to believe the bona fides of those in Sinn Fein or the IRA who say they want to be part of a peace process or want to have a ceasefire at this stage.
"If you have an unequivocal cessation of violence and if you have no incidents on the ground consistent with that, then we will bring these people into peace talks, but they have to establish to everyone's satisfaction that they want to be part of a democratic process and that they want to move away from violence."
The IRA's actions in Derry kept Sinn Fein out of the political process, he went on. "It is reckless and absolutely provocative and I hope that others in Northern Ireland will not react in a tit for tat situation."
The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, said the shooting "provides not the slightest evidence of a sincere or genuine commitment to peace on the part of the movement that carried it out. No excuse for this type of action should, be made."
The Progressive Democrat leader, Ms Mary Harney, said it was "extremely depressing that the evil men of violence have decided to bring murder and violence back to Northern Ireland".