The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said that progress on decommissioning will play a vital role in building up the trust crucial to making the Good Friday agreement effective.
Speaking at the opening of the Seanad debate on the agreement, Mr Ahern said both Governments would be taking all the necessary steps to facilitate the decommissioning process, which they wanted to see achieved as quickly as possible.
On the policing issue, he said the RUC will need to change and that perhaps one of the most visible of those changes would be the removal of military trappings, "as in a peaceful environment a police service should routinely be unarmed, as ours is".
Agreement between all parties had also been arrived at on the principles which should govern policing in "post-agreement Northern Ireland," he said.
These included an understanding that the police service must be representative of the entire community, Mr Ahern said. "It must be professional and be seen to be, it must be effective and efficient, fair and impartial, it must be accountable and it must have public confidence."
It was also agreed, he said, to set up an independent commission, with expert and international representation, to make recommendations on appropriate future policing arrangements for Northern Ireland. It was envisaged that the commission's proposals would cover areas such as recruitment, training, culture, the ethos of the service, and its symbols. This way it was hoped to ensure widespread confidence and support from the people of the North.
The Taoiseach also announced that under Strand Two of the agreement consideration would be given to the setting up of an independent consultative forum, which will be appointed by the two administrations on the island. It would include representatives of civil society, comprising the social partners and others with expertise in social, cultural, economic and other issues. He believed such a body could be a source of creative initiatives.
The forum idea arose from recognition of the contribution of such people to the peace process.
"One of the most positive new developments to emerge in recent years in Northern Ireland are the new voices of reason - voices of women, of community groups, of the business sector," he said. The contribution of such people to making the agreement work had perhaps not been as widely recognised as it deserved to be, Mr Ahern said.
It was for that reason he was pleased to give support to the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition "who have been like a refreshing breath of fresh air in Northern Ireland politics" when they sought Irish Government support for the inclusion in the agreement of a consultative forum to give a stronger voice to civil society.
The British-Irish Council, under Strand Three of the agreement, would meet at summit level twice a year, he said, and in specific formats on a regular basis with each side represented by appropriate ministers. It would also meet "in an appropriate format" to consider cross-sectoral matters.
Among the issues identified as suitable for early discussion by the council were transport links, agriculture, environment, cultural, health, education issues, and approaches to EU issues.
The role of the council would be "largely consultative", he said, although it will be open to it to agree common policies or common actions.
"The Government see the council," he said, "as offering a very useful forum in which to consider a range of east-west issues without detracting from the very centrality and independence of the North-South Council."
Addressing equality issues, the Taoiseach said that the British government will complete the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic legislation and the Irish Government is to bring forward measures to strengthen the Constitutional protection of human rights "so as to ensure that human rights protection will be equivalent North and South of the Border."
Both Governments had also agreed that a new Human Rights Commission would be set up in both jurisdictions. They will advise people on their rights and will be able to bring court proceedings where they believe people's rights have been breached.
The new Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission will also be asked to advise on the scope of a new Bill of Rights which it is intended will include additional rights to those contained in the European Convention on Human Rights, and which will reflect the principles of parity of esteem.
There will also be a statutory obligation on all public bodies in Northern Ireland to promote equality of opportunity.
Dealing with provisions in the agreement concerning Irish, he said the language will be given legal recognition in the North, and that "resolute action" will be taken by the British government to promote Irish and remove restrictions which may discourage or work against its promotion.
Financial support will be given to Irish-language film and television production in the North. The Irish language community will also be consulted and any complaints they have will be investigated by the relevant authorities.
Mr Ahern said he had been informed by EU Commissioner Mr Padraig Flynn that the Commission had agreed to approve the spending of about £70 million on cross-Border projects. Arrangements are also to be made to ensure that symbols and emblems are used in a manner which promotes mutual respect. All these developments, Mr Ahern said, represented "potentially hugely significant progress in meeting long-standing, and just, needs of nationalists in terms of principles of equality, but on a basis which threatens no one and is fair to all."