Adams foresees a 'future without the IRA'

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has told a meeting of party faithful that he envisages a "future without the IRA".

Mr Adams made his comments during a meeting in the Hillgrove Hotel, Co Monaghan, on Saturday. In a wide-ranging speech, the West Belfast MP said that finding "real and lasting and permanent" peace was a goal for all republicans.

"I want to see an end to all of the armed groups on this island. That has to be the aim of every thinking republican," he said.

"So if you ask me do I envisage a future without the IRA? The answer is obvious. The answer is 'Yes'."

However, Mr Adams said that the onus on Sinn Fein to influence the IRA was misleading, and it was incumbent on all stakeholders in the process to make paramilitary disbandment possible. He was also critical of the British government for its "tactical day-to-day management of the process, [which] has exacerbated the crisis within unionism and encouraged the rejectionists".

He then accused the British government of "stalling" the Stevens Report into the death of solicitor Pat Finucane in an effort to "dodge the truth of the RUC Special Branch and MI5's involvement".

The Sinn Fein president warned that the IRA would never disband in response to ultimatums from the British government or David Trimble.

The UUP leader, and former first minister, David Trimble, said that the statement was highly significant.

"The significant thing I think is that he never said never. We didn't get any echo of the sort of language that came from republicans on decommissioning in 1998-99. You could take from this that it is part of the business of conditioning members of the IRA to realise that they are going to go away."

The SDLP leader Mark Durkan welcomed Mr Adams's comments saying that republicans needed to "take heed" of nationalists throughout Ireland who "fervently" want an end to paramilitarism.

He added: “IRA activity is playing right into the hands of anti-Agreement unionists. And letting the nationalist community badly down.

“It is also welcome that Gerry Adams has begun to recognise Sinn Fein’s credibility crisis. Too often republican denials have proved to be false in the past – be it over Colombia or Florida.

“This too has served only to create distrust and destabilise the Good Friday Agreement."

Elsewhere, the House of Commons is set to debate whether to withdraw Sinn Fein's access to their Westminster offices in the wake of last month's NIO 'spy-ring' allegations involving members of the party.

The Conservative Party's Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Quentin Davies will open the debate this afternoon. The motion to withdraw facilities for Sinn Fein's MPs – Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, Michelle Gildernew and Pat Doherty – is said to have the support of UUP and DUP members.

(GMcG)