The Democratic Unionist Party was in no mood to rush into government with Sinn Fein tonight despite publication of the latest report from the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) showing the IRA was progressing along the road to democracy.
Sinn Fein was still not ready for government as the IRA has not completed the transition to exclusively peaceful and democratic means, Mr Paisley made clear.
However, the Taoiseach Mr Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair both welcomed the report and called for the devolution process to resume.
Responding to the report, Mr Paisley said indications of a reduction in IRA activity as a military structure were to be welcomed as it showed unionist insistence that criminality must cease was taking effect.
It was for republicans to give up crime and terror and irreversibly get on to the democratic path, he said.
But he warned: "At the present rate of transition it will be some considerable time before they can be said to have embraced that path.".
The tenth report of the IMC was its most positive yet on the Provisional IRA and said commission members remained of their "absolutely clear view that the PIRA leadership has committed itself to following a peaceful path".
The last three months had seen "further dismantling of PIRA as a military structure" and there had been no paramilitary shootings or attacks attributable to them in the three months from December to February.
However, the report noted that senior IRA men were involved in criminal activity to line their own pockets and that their leaders faced a "challenging task" in ensuring full compliance among members on the pledge to give up both violence and crime.
The IMC said the murder of senior Sinn Fein official and self-confessed British agent Denis Donaldson took place outside the period covered by the report.
Mr Donaldson was shot dead at the start of the month in the isolated Co Donegal cottage where he had taken refuge since being unmasked as an agent before Christmas.
IMC chairman Lord Alderdice, speaking at a report launch news conference, said they may produce a special report on the murder if they had something "substantial and useful to say".
The next IMC report is not due until October, and the commission will be keen to establish if the murder was sanctioned by the IRA leadership or carried out by a member or members acting alone.
The political parties return to the Assembly at Stormont on May 15 and have been given until November 24th to reach agreement and form an Executive.
Commenting on the IMC report, Mr Blair said the British government hoped there would be sufficient confidence and trust among all sides in the North to get devolution up and running again.
Mr Ahern told the Dail the report should pave the way for immediate direct talks between the DUP and Sinn Fein. "It is a very positive report. One way that the DUP can seek to establish the bona fides of Sinn Fein is by direct dialogue.
"This report allows that direct dialogue to start," he said.
Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said his party's opposition to the IMC was well known. He said: "As far as we are concerned the IRA has fulfilled all of its commitments made in its historic statement last July. It has addressed unionist concerns and removed any further excuse for non-engagement and prevarication."
Mr Adams added: "The onus is now on the DUP. It must decide if it is prepared to fully embrace the peace process and agree to the re-establishment of the political institutions."