Fianna Fáil has given the clearest signal yet that it is willing to take the historic step of forming a coalition government with Sinn Féin if the IRA decommissions its weapons and ends violent activities as part of a deal in Northern Ireland, writes Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, said yesterday that it was now "only a matter of time" before Sinn Féin was in government in the Republic. Sinn Féin responded immediately, saying that the Minister was simply "acknowledging the reality" of Sinn Féin's electoral mandate.
Mr Ahern's comments represent the most positive indication yet that Sinn Féin could be in government in the Republic within a short period. They come immediately after last week's Irish Times/TNS mrbi opinion poll showed that neither the current Fianna Fáil/PD coalition, nor the possible alternative Fine Gael/Labour/Green Party alliance, currently has the support required to win a Dáil majority.
Sinn Féin, however, on 12 per cent in that poll, is in a strong position to hold the balance of power, with its TDs possibly having the Dáil voting strength to determine who forms the next government.
Speaking to reporters at Hillsborough Castle, Mr Ahern said his party had "a particular stance" on Sinn Féin participation in government, which was well known. This is that Sinn Féin cannot participate in government in the Republic for so long as the IRA holds on to its weapons and continues to be active.
However, he added: "But obviously if circumstances change, our view in relation to Sinn Féin going into government will change. I believe it is only a matter of time that Sinn Féin will be in government in the future. . .There will come a time, I envisage, when Sinn Féin will be in government in the Republic as they will be in the North and I hope that happens in the future."
Mr Ahern was at Hillsborough for talks with the Northern Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy, as efforts continue to agree a deal involving IRA decommissioning, an end to all violent IRA activity, and the restoration of the North's power-sharing political institutions.
A Fianna Fáil spokesman would not be drawn further last night on Mr Ahern's remarks, and on whether the party was preparing for a historic coming together of two wings of republicanism for the first time since Eamon de Valera left Sinn Féin in 1926 to form Fianna Fáil.
Asked if Fianna Fáil would go into government with Sinn Féin after the next election if the issues relating to the IRA had been resolved, he said this question was "entirely hypothetical, and I'm not going to get drawn into it".
He said "Fianna Fáil's objective is to maximise support for ourselves at the next election" and he would not discuss what the party might do after an election.
He said Fianna Fáil had "a particular stance that has been well and clearly enunciated" in relation to Sinn Féin participation in government in the Republic. The party's position is the same as the other main parties in the Republic, which is that Sinn Féin cannot participate in government while the IRA continues to be active and to hold on to its weapons.
The spokesman said that Mr Ahern had made his remarks in Hillsborough, where he had been "working as part of a process designed to put all these issues into the past as completely as possible".
In response to Mr Ahern's comments yesterday, the leader of Sinn Féin's group in the Northern Assembly, Mr Conor Murphy, said, "the Minister is simply acknowledging the reality that, with our increasing electoral mandate, Sinn Féin will serve in an Irish government in the future".
He also suggested Sinn Féin participation could not be taken for granted. "Any participation by Sinn Féin in a coalition will be determined by our party membership and by whether such a course would best advance our agenda."