Sinn Féin should hold its special ardfheis to back the Northern Ireland police and legal system even if no further clarification from the Democratic Unionist Party emerges, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said.
Speaking in Dublin last night, Mr Ahern said he would do everything possible in coming days to encourage the DUP to clearly state support for sharing power.
Questioned about Sinn Féin's decision to hold an ardchomhairle meeting on Saturday, he said: "I am glad that they are continuing to remain engaged and I hope that they will make the same decision they did last time.
"It would be unforgivable if we lost the opportunity of so much progress that has been made."
He said that he believed he and the British prime minister Tony Blair had "brought it as far as we possibly can, though we will continue to be helpful to both sides.
". . .My honest view on this, and I have repeated it for several months, is that if the SF ardfheis takes place and they sign up completely to policing, then the concern of the DUP will be removed and we shouldn't even have to wait until May 2008," he said.
Pressed to say if the ardfheis should be held without further DUP clarification, the Taoiseach said: "I believe that policing should be dealt with anyway, regardless of this, respect for the rule of law and the courts system and the acceptance of the police post-Patten. But I do accept that it is a big issue for SF, but I do not see us being able to resolve all of these issues if we have to keep waiting for the next statement of clarity."
Meanwhile, Mr Ahern contradicted renewed charges from Martin McGuinness that he has had little contact with Sinn Féin since November.
"I can tell you that I spoke to Gerry Adams at Christmas, I spoke to Martin McGuinness at Christmas. I spoke to them after Christmas. I spoke to them before the New Year. I spoke to Gerry Adams last night. It took me nine hours to find him, but I am not making an issue out of that. I don't really know what brought that about. Whatever it is, I hope it isn't an issue. But there are no outstanding phone calls to SF."
