The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, warmly welcomed the Sinn Fein decision to endorse the Belfast Agreement and take its seats in a new Northern Assembly.
Sinn Fein had delivered on its commitment to the agreement, he said last night, to take a positive and constructive approach in the pursuit of peace.
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said that she was very encouraged by the Sinn Fein decision to endorse the agreement by such an overwhelming majority. It indicated that Sinn Fein was moving away from violence and embracing exclusively democratic politics for good.
It was a pity, she added, that the decision committing the party to democratic politics had not been taken years ago.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr Bruton, also welcomed Sinn Fein's decision to endorse the Belfast Agreement.
The two Governments, and all the parties to the agreement, had an obligation to take steps to disable the `New IRA' before it set up its terrorist infrastructure, he added.
He stressed that he was not talking about internment. He did not want to be prescriptive. It was a matter for the two Government based on their intelligence advice, he said.
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mowlam, praised Mr Gerry Adams for his leadership in the changing of the Sinn Fein constitution.
She said the British government had always hoped that the agreement would be supported by all parties at the Stormont talks. "This is now the case and that must bode well for the future of Northern Ireland.
"I recognise how significant this decision is for republicans and pay tribute to the leadership of Gerry Adams."
The SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, urged unionists to note the importance of the decision. He hoped that unionists would recognise that all the parties representing nationalist Ireland "are now making it very clear that what they are seeking is the agreement of the unionist people. I hope that the unionist people will respond with similar strength in the referendum."
Mr John Taylor, deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, also welcomed the ardfheis decision. He said that after 77 years Sinn Fein had finally faced up to reality. The party now recognised that Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom and that that status could not be changed without the consent of the Northern people.
"Clearly Sinn Fein is realising that they cannot overcome the pro-British majority in Northern Ireland and that their best fallback position is to face up to reality, and co-operate with the larger political parties in Northern Ireland.
"Sinn Fein has still some distance to go to be accepted by unionists as a democratic political party, but today is a beginning in which Sinn Fein has had to agree to abandon many of its sacred cows."
The Democratic Unionist Party said it was further proof that the deal was designed to lead to a united Ireland.
Its deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, said it should now be clear to all unionists that the agreement was a "vehicle to trundle us into a united Ireland." He accused the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, of participating in an "unholy alliance" with Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Government.
"Perhaps now that Sinn Fein are in harness with the Glengall Street leadership we will now see the odd couple - Adams and Trimble - campaigning together."
"The choice for unionists is stark and simple. Aid IRA/ Sinn Fein by joining them in voting Yes, or stand shoulder to shoulder as the community they've bombed and butchered for 30 years and vote No. Now is the time for every unionist to decide."
The president of Republican Sinn Fein, Mr Ruairi O Bradaigh, said that, in accepting the agreement and deciding to participate in the new Stormont assembly, "the Prov isionals have broken every pledge they ever made not to do so."
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern: Sinn Fein has delivered