THE PLACID image of the Northern Ireland powersharing administration suffered a setback over the weekend as a war of words erupted between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party.
Speaking at the Sinn Féin ard-fheis in Dublin, party leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, who is also the North's Deputy First Minister, strongly challenged their DUP partners on the transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont by May 2008.
First Minister and DUP leader Ian Paisley responded with a statement that, "The DUP never signed up to any May 2008 deadline", and he demanded the disbandment of the IRA army council.
Dr Paisley said: "The target date of May was set by the two governments alone. It is not a date that has been endorsed by the DUP. At no time did any Democratic Unionist indicate that May 2008 was a credible date for the transfer of policing and justice powers to Stormont."
He continued: "If republicans are absolutely committed to democracy and the rule of law they have no need of a so-called army council and they should end their sectarian campaign against our Loyal Orders."
Addressing the ardfheis on Friday night, Mr McGuinness recalled that, "During the talks which led to the first meeting of the Sinn Féin and DUP leaderships [ at Stormont] on March 26th, a senior member of the DUP delegation said his party would stand by the St Andrews Agreement."
Ulster Unionist Party leader Sir Reg Empey, who is also a Minister in the Executive, became involved in the row yesterday when he said: "I challenge Dr Paisley to confirm or deny that this statement was made at the meeting last year with Sinn Féin."
Dr Paisley's comments were issued on Saturday, after Mr McGuinness's speech but before the presidential address to the ardfheis by Mr Adams.
The Sinn Féin president gave considerable attention to his party's relationship with its government partners. Addressing the DUP directly on the policing issue, he said: "We are working with you in the powersharing government. We want to deliver for people across the island. So we want to continue working with you.
"But we can only judge any party or any leadership on its willingness to promote the process of peace and reconciliation. We can only judge it on how it honours its obligations."
Claiming that a united Ireland was closer than ever, Mr Adams announced that he would shortly be setting-up "a high-powered taskforce" comprising leading republican figures Martin Ferris TD; Junior Minister in the Northern Executive Gerry Kelly; President of Friends of Sinn Féin in the US, Larry Downes; Bairbre de Brún MEP; and Sinn Féin general secretary Rita O'Hare.
The purpose of the taskforce would be "to drive forward the roadmap to Irish unity" and Mr Adams called on "the Irish diaspora" to give full support to the campaign in the lead-up to the centenary of the 1916 Rising.
Reflecting the party's move to the centre on economic and taxation issues, Mr Adams insisted "Sinn Féin is not anti-business. Sinn Féin is pro-business."