The Fine Gael finance spokesman, Mr Michael Noonan, said he would not "at present" be prepared to sit in Cabinet with Sinn Fein.
He said Sinn Fein was still ambivalent about decommissioning, "and while they are ambivalent about decommissioning, I would be very uneasy about support from Sinn Fein in government", he added.
He said if Sinn Fein were a fully democratic party, it would be entitled to the same consideration as every democratic party in the Dail. "But I don't think they are a fully constitutional democratic party yet, although they have certainly moved down the road significantly towards being one."
Asked in an interview with the Limerick Leader yesterday if he would be prepared to sit in cabinet with a Sinn Fein minister, he replied: "Not at present, no."
He said Sinn Fein had expectations that those convicted of the manslaughter of Det Garda Jerry McCabe would be released. And the Government did not enshrine its commitment not to release these prisoners in legislation.
"If they wanted to make sure of no possibility of these people getting out, they should have put that into the Bill which is the law which allows for the release of prisoners. So there is some ambivalence on the Government's side, and I think the issue will become an issue for the courts now.
"As a political decision, I think it is one Mr Ahern would want to avoid. I also know they are trying to keep a good relationship with Sinn Fein in the interests of the Northern peace and also the interest of possibly a prospective Government here in the future. So I can see the political advantage for Fianna Fail for this to become an issue on which the courts would adjudicate rather than the Cabinet."
He said Sinn Fein would make an impact in some constituencies but not his East Limerick constituency. "This is largely due to the late Jim Kemmy. He succeeded in representing initially the radical left and at the same time was very anti-violence in the North. He brought the radical left with him and Sinn Fein never got a grip in Limerick." He said Fine Gael will hold its general election convention within the next six weeks.
He said his own preference would be for Fine Gael and Labour to have a pact before the next general election.
"I think it's more likely that there will be a coincidence of policy before the election and negotiation after the election if the numbers add up," he said, adding that whatever strategy was decided upon, he would be asking Fine Gael voters in Limerick East to continue their preference for the Labour candidates. "We have an obligation to change the Government, not just criticise," he said.