Up to 60 jobs in the retail sector were destroyed in a fire-bombing campaign in Newry last week. Explosives were placed also on the Dublin-Belfast railway line and attempts were made subsequently to blow up a house owned by Dr Edward Haughey.
The Real IRA is the main suspect in each case. Such publicity-seeking actions by dissident republicans, apparently designed to attract new members to a marginalised and largely discredited paramilitary organisation, should serve as a warning that time is of the essence in the establishment of devolved institutions in Northern Ireland.
At the moment, the Democratic Unionist Party is not prepared to share in an Executive involving Sinn Féin. Party leader the Rev Ian Paisley has suggested a "decontamination period" of years, rather than months, before he would accept the bona fides of Sinn Féin. In such circumstances, the two governments may have no option but to hold to their threat to wind up the Assembly on November 24th and dismiss elected representatives and their political staffs.
The Taoiseach has already indicated that if agreement cannot be reached under Strand One of the Belfast Agreement, then the governments will move ahead under direct rule to operate Strands Two and Three, providing for an increased level of Anglo-Irish co-operation. Such an approach is clearly designed to put pressure on the DUP but, so far, it has had little obvious effect.
While the political landscape appears to be frozen, there have been positive developments. The marching season has passed off with practically no inter-communal violence, largely as a result of Sinn Féin efforts. And the International Monitoring Commission (IMC) is expected to report in October that the IRA has not engaged in any criminal or paramilitary activity.
Sinn Féin is under pressure to normalise its relations with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the party leader, Gerry Adams, has accepted the issue will have to be resolved. Yesterday, the party's spokesman on justice, Gerry Kelly, said the only thing standing in the way of this development was the refusal of the DUP to share power. That is a significant advance. The Sinn Féin leadership has been strengthened by the show of unity and purpose at Casement GAA Park last weekend in commemoration of the hunger strikers. But there is some way to go. And the issue of restorative justice will have to be addressed.
In these circumstances, the activities of dissident republications such as the Real IRA and of loyalist paramilitaries are major threats to the development of effective democratic structures in Northern Ireland. As the largest parties elected by a divided community, the DUP and Sinn Féin have been granted responsibilities as well as privileges. Their duty is to make life more rewarding and comfortable for their constituents. By failing to engage creatively with their opponents, the DUP is in danger of generating a political vacuum that could open the door to the destruction and violence of the past.