Former paramilitary prisoners seeking an amnesty under the Belfast Agreement will require a presidential pardon, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said.
Mr Ahern said an examination eligibility board would be set up to decide if an individual was eligible for a pardon.
"The eligibility body will have to be satisfied of the circumstances of each case. It will have to be satisfied that the person in question is not associated or affiliated in any way with any organisation that continues to engage in crime, or to threaten to engage in such activity.
"The eligibility body's findings in each case will be forwarded to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who will have to be satisfied of all the circumstances before referring the matter to the Cabinet.
"If the Cabinet is satisfied, the case will be presented to the President so that a pardon can be issued."
The Taoiseach was replying to Labour leader Pat Rabbitte who said that legislation was being put through the House of Commons by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain relating to "on-the-runs". A decision seemed to have arisen from a side deal between the British government and Sinn Féin to greatly broaden the ambit of this issue.
"This now seems to suggest that those responsible for over 2,000 murders can, if the law ever catches up with them, no matter where they have been or where they now live, invoke the amnesty and be released on licence. While the institutions are in suspension, is it not the case that in matters such as this the Government is free and expected to make an input into these matters?" He accepted a line must be drawn in the sand, but it was critical, given the number of people who lost their lives and were maimed and injured, that the process was open and transparent.
Mr Ahern said the legislation being discussed at Westminster arose from a commitment given as part of the Weston Park talks in the summer of 2001. The Westminster system was very different to that in the Republic. Their numbers were far more extensive.
The Government, said Mr Ahern, had asked the British authorities some questions about a number of aspects of the Hain Bill, mainly to get clarification.
