The IRA has moved from being a sophisticated paramilitary threat to an organisation committed to peace, the latest report from the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) said today.
The Irish and British governments quickly supported the "clear-cut" finding saying, in comments plainly aimed at unionist parties, that it is not credible to suggest the Provisionals are not committed to a political solution to the North's problems.
The report also found the threat from loyalist paramilitaries had abated but had not gone.
In its most positive assessment of the IRA since its creation, the IMC said: "It is now firmly set on a political strategy, eschewing terrorism and other forms of crime. In this process there has been a loss of paramilitary capability.
"The leadership has taken a firm stance against the involvement in criminality, both through public statements and internal directions."
The report said the IRA did not believe a return to terrorism was viable and had disbanded military structures including the departments responsible for procuring weapons, bomb-making and training.
The IRA had also ended all intelligence-gathering against members of the security forces and resisted approaches to carry out so-called punishment attacks against anti-social elements in republican areas.
Senior personnel played a key role in ensuring that the summer marching season in Northern Ireland remained peaceful, it added.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair regard the report as an ideal kick-start to talks on the restoration of devolution at St Andrews in Scotland next week.
Mr Ahern said: "We are greatly encouraged and warmly welcome the Report's conclusion that there is convincing evidence of the Provisional IRA's continuing commitment to an exclusively political path.
"These positive and clear-cut findings are of the utmost importance and significance. They are evidence that the security landscape in Northern Ireland has been radically altered."
In a co-ordinated response to the IMC report by the two governments, Downing Street said:
"We agree with the report's conclusion that there is now 'convincing evidence of the IRA's continuing commitment to the political path' and believe that it is no longer credible to suggest otherwise," a British government statement said.
"But while we accept that individual parties will, quite rightly, make their own assessment, we believe this report does lay the basis for the final settlement of the conflict in Northern Ireland — and, as such, presents a unique opportunity for this generation to reach that final resolution, an opportunity the government hopes the parties will now seize."
The DUP in particular has expressed doubts that the November 24 thdeadline set by the two governments can be met, despite the threat to revert to a 'Plan B' which would see an effective end to funding of peace process in the North.
And it will focus on the IMC's findings that the IRA continued to monitor loyalist paramilitaries and dissident republicans and had investigated suspected informers within its own ranks.
It also found that while the organisation was not formally involved in criminality, some of its members were personally profiting from smuggling, robberies and fuel laundering. Others were using the proceeds of crime to acquire property, the IMC said.
It acknowledged that the leadership had tried to discourage members from engaing in crime but was no longer able to discipline them. It said an armed faction in the north-west calling itself the Republican Defence Army was evidence this.
The Commission noted the Provisional IRA had to still to make progress on the key issue of policing but acknowledged that the leadership wanted it resolved.
It failed, however, to make an assessment on whether there was IRA involvement in the murder of former Sinn Féin official-turned-British spy Denis Donaldson.
The four-member panel devoted just one line to a killing security sources believe was carried out by disaffected former IRA members.
They were concerned about the activities of loyalist paramilitary groups the UVF and the UDA.
The report welcomed both organisations' efforts towards becoming exclusively political, but accused individuals in both groups of carrying out murders and attempted murders in recent months.
"The moves made in the UDA and Ulster Political Research Group, and by the UVF and the Progressive Unionist Party, are in no way comparable with the transformation that has taken place in respect of PIRA and Sinn Fein.
"While such developments as have occurred are welcome it cannot yet be said that these senior figures have brought their respective organisations very far along the road," the report said.
Additional reporting PA