Irish and British ministers and officials will intensify their contacts from next week in preparation for the review of the implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
Following the Northern Secretary, Dr Mowlam's, determination yesterday that the IRA ceasefire has not broken down, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, will meet the North's Political Development Minister, Mr George Howarth, in Dublin on Monday to discuss the forthcoming review. Former US Senator, George Mitchell, will begin his review on September 6th, possibly with a series of bilateral meetings with the political parties.
Ms O'Donnell said yesterday the Government shares and supports Dr Mowlam's assessment that "in terms of an overall judgment, the IRA ceasefire has not broken down."
She said the Government would not comment on specific incidents, such as the murder of Charles Bennett and the attempted importation of arms - in view of the implications for possible court proceedings. "We wish to make clear, however, that we deplore and condemn each and every act of violence. All such acts are utterly unacceptable and that view has been conveyed in the strongest terms to all with influence on paramilitary organisations", she said.
She said the Irish and British governments would continue to monitor the ceasefires of the paramilitary organisations. "It continues to be our belief that the most effective means of ensuring that all acts of violence are put behind us for good is through the consolidation of the political process and, in particular, through the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
"It is essential that we move forward now with resolving the outstanding difficulties in this regard and we will be working closely to this end with the British government, the parties and Senator George Mitchell in the review process over the coming weeks", she said.
Fine Gael warned last night that the concept of a ceasefire was being diluted by "excluding many categories of action from being breaches, thereby giving a form of indirect political approval to such actions and their purposes".
The party's deputy spokesman on Northern Ireland, Mr Charles Flanagan, said a much clearer distinction should be drawn between high standards that must be demanded of any organisation on ceasefire and the more nuanced decisions that may have to be taken as to sanctions, if any, to be applied.
No matter what Dr Mowlam had decided, he said, one or more parties would have been disappointed. He called on all parties to the Belfast Agreement to reaffirm their commitment to the Mitchell principles.
The Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said Dr Mowlam's statement - that while the IRA ceasefire had been breached, it had not broken down - was correct.
"It is critical now that all politicians and parties in Northern Ireland turn their attention to the review of the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement to be conducted by Senator George Mitchell. I welcome again the acceptance by senior Ulster Unionists that no attempt should be made to exclude Sinn Fein from those talks.
"Sinn Fein for its part should now indicate its readiness to participate in the review with a view to ensuring the full implementation of the Agreement. All sides must accept that a peaceful and prosperous future for Northern Ireland will only be built in accordance with full compliance with the Mitchell principles," Mr Quinn said.