According to its president, Gerry Adams, in a speech delivered on 28 February, "Sinn Féin is unreservedly committed to negotiations, to democratic and inclusive dialogue as the only way of resolving conflict and securing a lasting peace." Sinn Féin is undoubtedly aware that the basic condition to be met before its participation in negotiation is an unequivocal restoration of the IRA ceasefire, and I hope that it will persuade the IRA that it must take this step.
I have had no meetings or other contact with Sinn Féin since the ending of the IRA ceasefire in February 1996. While officials in my Department had over the following 11 month period some subsequent meetings with Sinn Féin, as envisaged by the Government when it ended ministerial-level contact, I do not propose to depart from precedent by giving details of such contacts.
The present policy of the Government remains as set out by the Taoiseach to the House on 22 January 1997, namely, that "the official channel of communication can be used whenever the Government receive reliable assurances that an IRA ceasefire is attainable in a genuinely short-term horizon, and that previously identified and realistically attainable things need to be discussed at the meeting, and done, that will achieve that end. If such assurances are received, meetings can be arranged at very short notice. The sole purpose of any such meeting would be to end IRA violence, once and for all, and quickly."