The British government published a short Bill yesterday proposing to remove the bar on members of the Oireachtas serving in the British House of Commons and in the Northern Ireland Assembly, but TDs will be prohibited from taking up more than one ministerial position in the three elected bodies.
The publication of the Disqualifications Bill by the Home Office is designed to "smooth out electoral anomalies" between the United Kingdom and the Republic. It is intended that TDs will also be able to stand for election to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.
The proposal is seen as a calculated move by the British government to tie Sinn Fein ever closer into the political fold while the question of IRA decommissioning remains unresolved.
Announcing the publication of the Bill, the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, said it would remove one of the remaining significant differences between Ireland and Commonwealth countries in the area of electoral law.
Elected members of assemblies in Commonwealth countries and Irish nationals other than TDs can stand for election to the House of Commons and, while Ireland is no longer a member of the Commonwealth, the "special relationship" between the two countries will be recognised in the Bill.
The Bill will amend the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, the Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975 and the Northern Ireland Act 1998. It is expected to receive its second reading early in 2000.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, denied the proposal was linked to IRA decommissioning, saying that issue was "a matter for those who have something to decommission".
Mr Adams also urged unionists to reflect on the proposal before dismissing it out of hand. He denied that he had any intention of seeking election to the Oireachtas in the future.
The Northern Ireland Minister of Culture, Mr Michael McGimpsey, condemned the Bill, saying it went beyond the terms of the Belfast Agreement: "It goes without saying that the Ulster Unionist Party will be vigorously opposing this move".
As the Disqualifications Bill was published, the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, insisted there were no plans to introduce an alternative version of the oath of allegiance to enable the Sinn Fein MPs (Mr Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness) to use House of Commons facilities.
Mr Blair's declaration came in a written reply in the House of Commons after the Speaker of the Commons, Ms Betty Boothroyd, said she had spoken to a number of ministers about proposals to allow the two MPs to use facilities without swearing the oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth. Ms Boothroyd said that if ministers wished the two MPs to use facilities, the government must propose a motion in the House of Commons.
While there are no plans to change the oath, proposals are being discussed at Westminster to allow Mr Adams, the MP for West Belfast, and Mr McGuinness, the MP for Mid-Ulster, to use office facilities without swearing the oath.
The proposal has angered the former Conservative prime minister, Mr John Major, who pledged to oppose any moves to enable Mr Adams or Mr McGuinness to use office facilities without having to swear the oath. Mr Major said that while he did not favour the Disqualifications Bill, he was much more concerned about the proposal for Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness to use Commons facilities without swearing the oath.
"I have supported the government strongly throughout many difficult decisions on the Northern Ireland process, but I cannot and will not support them if they bring forward such a change to the oath of allegiance."