The Taoiseach has said last night's IRA statement on arms does not go far enough.
Speaking at a Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting in Ennis, Co Clare, he said: "It's not enough in terms of bringing us back to where we were last month. While the statement is progress, and a step in the right direction, it is only a step, and we have to keep going".
Earlier a Government statement welcomed the IRA move. The statement said the Government looks forward to an early and comprehensive resolution of the arms issue through this engagement.
In a statement published in today's edition of An Phoblacht, the IRA claimed it would intensify its efforts to resolve the weapons issue, and that its commitment to peace was "without question".
"Progress will be directly influenced by the attitude of other parties to the peace process, including and especially, the British government.
"It is our considered view that the Irish peace process can succeed. The continued failure or refusal to sustain the political process and to deliver real and meaningful change has a direct bearing on how this will be accomplished".
Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams welcomed the IRA statement. "While there are many difficulties it remains my firm view that none of these matters are intractable," he said.
Fine Gael leader Mr Michael Noonan also welcomed the IRA statement. "We hope that on this occasion the re-engagement leads to full and total decommissioning," he said.
"Fine Gael wants Sinn Féin to become a normal, fully participative, democratic party and I therefore welcome today's initiative which brings them a stage closer to that".
But Labour leader Mr Ruairí Quinn said the statement on its own "will not be sufficient to convince people that the republican movement is serious about addressing the arms issue, and rapid movement towards decommissioning is now essential if the momentum from progress in Northern Ireland is to be restored".
The SDLP’s Mr Sean Farren said the failure of the IRA to disarm has undermined confidence in the political process.
The statement was dismissed as "nauseating" and a "cynical PR stunt" by Democratic Unionist MP, Mr Nigel Dodds.
The IRA statement expressed sympathy with the victims of last week's attacks in the US and sought to allay concerns about the arrests of three Irishmen in Colombia last month.
It said the IRA had sent no-one there to "train or to engage in military co-operation with any group".
PA