Moves by Sinn Féin leaders to urge their members to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland were last night hailed as potentially historic.
The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and other political leaders, including the Democratic Unionists' deputy leader, Peter Robinson, welcomed a decision by the Sinn Féin national executive to hold a special party conference next month to consider supporting the PSNI.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "This statement is significant because of the unequivocal support that Sinn Féin says it will offer — if this motion is passed at the ard fheis — to not just the police but also to those in communities in report crimes to the police.
"For the first time, there is the real prospect of all parties and all sections of the community in Northern Ireland supporting the rule of law in Northern Ireland."
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams revealed after a six-hour meeting in Dublin of his party executive that a motion would be put to his rank and file members urging them to support the PSNI and and An Garda Siochana.
The motion will also urge members to support calls for the transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont and consider Sinn Féin representatives joining the Northern Ireland Policing Board and local District Policing Partnerships.
Officials in London and Dublin were also heartened that the motion would call for a commitment to actively encourage everyone in the community to co-operate fully with the police services on both sides of the border in tackling crime in all areas and actively supporting all the criminal justice institutions.
Mr Adams said: "We stayed out of policing structures until now in order to bring about maximum change.
"If the ardfheis accepts this motion, it will be about us going into a new political dispensation in order to continue to bring about maximum change and to ensure that the police never again do to our people what they did before."
Mr Ahern welcomed the Sinn Féin executive's decision. "Sinn Féin has today taken an important step on the road to support for policing in Northern Ireland," he said.
"This is clearly a landmark and timely decision."
There were also positive soundings from the DUP's deputy leader, Peter Robinson, who said it would be churlish not to acknowledge its historic potential. The east Belfast MP, however, reminded republicans: "Unionists will want firstly to examine the text of any resolution and, in particular, check whether any conditionality exists.
"Unionists will secondly want to be sure that no price has been paid for this move to the detriment of the unionist community.
"Thirdly, unionists will not be prepared to rely on words alone, but will want to see meaningful delivery on the ground."
PA