Irish Government reaction: Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has called on the North's political parties to move to the next phase of the peace process and to work to restore the North's political institutions before next Easter.
Hailing yesterday as the "momentous day" on which the IRA had given up all of its weapons, he said at a press conference he understood unionists needed time to reflect and their trust needed to be rebuilt.
Urging political progress, Mr Ahern said: "Nobody wants to drift endlessly." He said winter time was always the best time to make progress in relation to Northern Ireland. "Between now and Easter time is when we have to make the moves and decisions that allow us to move on."
When it came to summer time, he said, sectarian tensions broke out. Last summer saw a big increase in loyalist attacks.
Asked if he could be certain that every weapon and piece of IRA ammunition had been put beyond use, the Taoiseach said: "Not being there, I cannot be certain, but what I can be certain of is that I have spent the last seven years, since the start of the multi-party talks, defending the integrity of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning [ IICD]."
Now the commission had reported that "we have determined that the IRA has met its commitment to put all its arms beyond use in the manner called on by the legislation".
He believed this and he trusted the commission. "The fact is in relation to the Provisional IRA . . . the gun of the IRA is out of Irish politics."
He said that yesterday had removed one important obstacle preventing Sinn Féin participation in government in the Republic, but others remained.
Up to now, "we held that Sinn Féin - because of their associations with the IRA, the fact that they had an army, the fact that they were involved in criminality and the fact there were weapons - would not be compatible with anybody in government."
Yesterday's events had removed that obstacle, but he added: "I have many other difficulties with Sinn Féin that have nothing to do with this issue.
"I am a pro-European. I have worked very hard on European issues. It is my other love. Sinn Féin are opposed to that . . . They are opposed to most of the other things I do, but they are political issues."
He said the commitments made by the IRA in July were being fulfilled. The Government would pay attention to the forthcoming report of the Independent Monitoring Commission to see its judgment on whether IRA criminality had ended.
The new phase of the political process now involved seeking to implement the Belfast agreement, "to get an assembly into Northern Ireland; to give institutions to Northern Ireland, a working Executive, North-South bodies, these are the things that we have to do work on.
"It mightn't be possible to do it in the next few weeks but hopefully, it will be possible in the months ahead."
He understood there were "two groups today who feel hugely hurt for different reasons.
"The most important group in my view is the group of people who suffered IRA violence because all this always brings it back to them. I have met these groups many times and always feel moved by them and always feel compassionate towards them.
"I also understand that there have been loyal volunteers of the IRA - though I totally and absolutely disagree with them - who feel today is a hugely historic day that they didn't really want to have to do. And I understand that too."
Tánaiste Mary Harney "warmly" welcomed yesterday's statement, describing it as "another important step towards the full implementation of the Good Friday agreement".
She said it must be followed by reports from the Independent Monitoring Commission commission confirming that all IRA criminal and paramilitary activity had ceased.
"Far too often during my lifetime, we have seen the pain that has been inflicted by the use of such weaponry and today I warmly welcome their decommissioning and destruction," she said.
She added that the Provisional movement had to signal its support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, saying that to do otherwise "opens up a dangerous vacuum which will only help sectarianism and lawlessness".