The Irish Times has Bertie Ahern’s statement after his meetings with Tony Blair and the DUP delegation to the Irish Embassy in London:
He said he was “not too concerned” about the timing of the statement, so long as it contained the elements needed to restore confidence and move the Belfast Agreement process forward. “To move forward, we need a clear, unambiguous end of all paramilitary and criminal activity and we need to see the completion of decommissioning,” he said. But he stressed: “It is not just words, it is deeds. “If we get a statement on the issues I have mentioned, we would be very happy with the statement, but we would naturally enough want to see that they happen.”
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
