The de Chastelain statement was welcomed yesterday by leaders of the Opposition parties, who said the process of decommissioning agreed should begin immediately. The leader of Fine Gael, Mr Michael Noonan, said the statement should allow the pro-agreement parties to proceed with the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
He said the statement by Gen de Chastelain, that a representative of the IRA had indicated to him that the IRA was now ready to start a process to put its arms beyond use in a verifiable way, was "very welcome".
"This should allow the pro-agreement parties to proceed with the full implementation of the Good Friday agreement.
"It should allow them to restore, at the earliest possible date, the institutions which flow from the Good Friday agreement."
In a statement, he said, the question remained, however, as to when the IRA intended starting the process to which Gen de Chastelain referred. "Fine Gael sees no reason why this process should not commence immediately and why it should not be followed by immediate parallel action by the loyalist paramilitaries."
The leader of the Labour Party, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said the statement represented a significant step towards full implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
"The statement should be studied closely by all parties to the agreement and there is a particular onus on loyalist paramilitaries to enter into similar agreements with the decommissioning body," he said.
He said that having agreed a process now with Gen de Chastelain, the IRA should move immediately to start the process of putting arms beyond use.
Mr Quinn said it was regrettable that the process now entered into by the IRA could not have been agreed by it on foot of its statement of May last year.
"None the less all parties to the process should regard today's statement by Mr de Chastelain as a significant step forward to secure full implementation of the agreement."