The Government has intensified its attack on Sinn Féin's links with the Provisional IRA as both the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, claimed that the paramilitary organisation was involved in "criminal heists" at Dublin port. Arthur Beesley, Political Reporter, reports.
The claims were made ahead of a summit at Farmleigh on Thursday evening between Mr Ahern and the British prime minister, Mr Tony Blair. They are understood to refer to Garda intelligence about smuggling activities, involving cigarettes and video equipment in particular.
Mr Ahern said the summit was "more important" than the recent engagements between the two leaders, but Irish sources said that no specific initiative to revive the process would be on the table.
While both leaders are frustrated with the lack of the progress since the Northern Ireland elections last November, Mr Ahern's official spokeswoman said last night that there was no proposal to suspend the review of the Belfast Agreement.
The Taoiseach said in Dublin yesterday that valuable time would be lost if if no progress was made "fairly quickly". "The chances of getting round-table discussion and getting as much dialogue as we need are not as good as I think we would like," he said. While Mr Ahern will attempt with Mr Blair to chart a way forward, he acknowledged a risk that continuing paramilitary operations by the IRA were damaging the prospects of restoring a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland involving Sinn Féin.
He was speaking after Mr McDowell said on RTÉ radio that "household names" from the Sinn Féin leadership were members of the IRA army council, which controls the activities of the IRA.
However, Mr Ahern said he did not know who was on the IRA army council said he was "not sure" that Mr McDowell knew who was on the council.
After Mr McDowell stood by his remarks, a spokesman for the Minister declined to comment when asked whether he would share his information about the membership of the IRA army council with the Taoiseach.
The renewed attack on Sinn Féin was immediately rejected by the party's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, who claimed that Mr McDowell was electioneering in advance of the European and local authority polls in June.
Mr McGuinness said: "It's very well to make accusations, it's another thing to substantiate those accusations. Michael McDowell needs to remember he is the Minister for Justice. He is not the Minister for judges and he's certainly not the Minister for juries."
However, Mr Ahern insisted that the Government figures were not electioneering. He said Mr McDowell's reference to organisation of "criminal heists" at Dublin port by Sinn Féin figures from Northern Ireland was a reference to the Provisional IRA.
"He's dealing actively with files which do show that there's criminality and that's what he's talking about in the docks," said Mr Ahern of Mr McDowell.
Neither the Garda nor the Dublin Port company would comment on the nature or scale of such heists. However, one informed source said yesterday that the such activity has never been raised at board meetings of the Dublin Port company.
Mr Ahern said there had been a number of serious incidents in the past 12 months "that link in paramilitary and criminal issues. It's not electioneering. There's a serious issue. The point is this, if I was here today, and there were questions about the funding of Fianna Fáil, which there have been many times, I have to answer these questions and the media will vigorously ask me these questions."
The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said Mr McDowell had a consistitutional duty to act on his intelligence information.