THE Taoiseach has called for the IRA to restore its ceasefire and has demanded that Sinn Fein indicate whether it supports an armed struggle.
Speaking in Trim yesterday at the launch of a book of poems for peace written by primary school children from Trim and Somerset, Mr Bruton said that since last Monday there has been a place for everybody at the talks on Northern Ireland.
He said that after months of argument and work, the basis on which all politicians in Northern Ireland could come together and talk was agreed and the only party not there was Sinn Fein.
"The people who voted for Sinn Fein were led to believe they were voting for peace and if that means support for a struggle whose strategy involves bombs and shooting gardai, it is not a peace strategy", he said.
"The republican movement has to make up its mind whether it is part of a peace strategy or not. If not they have to go back to the 15 per cent who voted for them and say they are sorry. They should pay attention to Irish people both young and old who recognise that there are differences and injustices done by one side to the other but they can only be healed by talking to each other", the Taoiseach told a gathering at St Michael's Boys National School.
Mr Bruton said the work and support of the young people were an example of what the real people of Ireland and Britain want. "The sort of events we've seen in Manchester really represent a hang over from the past - old thinking with no future - whereas the young people of the future clearly want peace and reconciliation."
Asked by journalists whether the Government would consider breaking off communication with Sinn Fein, the Taoiseach said it was very important that Sinn Fein make clear whether they supported the armed struggle of the IRA any more.
"Does Sinn Fein support the armed struggle in the form of the bombing of Manchester and in the form of armed robberies like that which was attempted in Adare in Co Limerick with such tragic results? I think it is for Sinn Fein really to answer that question for themselves now.
"They have got to say do they support this armed struggle of the IRA as a political party and how do they reconcile that support, if that is the case, with having campaigned in the recent Northern elections on the basis of support for peace. It is impossible to support peace and simultaneously support the armed struggle of the IRA, they are inconsistent."
The Taoiseach said the emphasis should be placed on Sinn Fein themselves rather than on the Government isolating them as a political party. "There has always been a risk that where others lay down rules or hurdles for them to cross that they use that as an excuse for avoiding their own responsibilities.
"They tend to try to project the problem on to whoever has laid down the particular guidelines for them. The truth of the matter is the problem is one that Sinn Fein as a political party that campaigned for peace only a few weeks ago has got to resolve by saying whether, clearly, we do support or we don't support the armed struggle of the IRA. That is a simple question that they have to answer.
Mr Bruton said: "It would be far better as a whole if the republican movement were to choose to say that 25 years of violence did not work, it achieved nothing, it brought hardship to the republican community in Northern Ireland, and as a failed political strategy and as a united movement they should abandon it. I think that would be the best possible course of action."
He said the bomb in Manchester was designed to cause the maximum trauma to British public opinion and to the many people visiting for the European soccer championship, and political support for the armed struggle had to be withdrawn.
Launching the book of peace, the Taoiseach said the work of the peace process was for future generations and the wishes of children who wanted peace. A number of the boys, aged 9 and 10, read their poems to a small audience that included the British ambassador, Mrs Veronica Sutherland, and the Bishop of Meath, Dr Michael Smith.