The Consultative Group on the Past is planning to meet the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries soon to ascertain their willingness to disclose their involvement in the 2,000 unsolved killings of the Troubles, according to reliable sources.
The group, which is co-chaired by former Church of Ireland primate Lord Robin Eames and former vice-chairman of the policing board Denis Bradley, also believes the IRA is prepared to be more forthcoming in providing information to victims seeking the truth about the past, the sources said.
However, The Irish Times was told, the response of the IRA to the Eames-Bradley group may hinge on the degree of willingness of the British security forces to disclose information about the extent of their alleged collusion with loyalist paramilitaries.
Last August members of the group spent four days examining files of the Stevens Inquiry team which, the sources said, revealed disquieting and shocking evidence of widespread collusion between the "British state" and loyalist paramilitaries.
Some of this information, such as that relating to the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane and the UDA activities of British army agent Brian Nelson, is already in the public realm.
However, the Stevens' papers disclosed a large body of information and evidence, hitherto unpublished, about many other cases of collusion, the sources said.
The consultative group, it is understood, is trying to determine whether it can receive reciprocal commitments from the IRA and representatives of the British security forces that they would co-operate in helping to establish the truth about the Troubles, which would assist the bereaved, and the maimed and wounded victims of the Troubles.
It is also seeking to establish whether the IRA, in its dealing with the group, would be prepared to make a "solemn declaration or covenant" that it would never again use violence in pursuance of political ends.
One source said that such a commitment from the IRA could be pivotal in deciding whether Sinn Féin and the DUP would be able to reach agreement on the devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern Executive.
The DUP insists that "IRA structures" such as the army council must be dismantled before these powers could be devolved.
The Eames-Bradley group is now seeking commitments from the IRA, loyalist paramilitaries and the British state that they will assist in the truth-recovery process.
The group believes there is a real chance of movement from both the IRA and the British.
The eight-member group spent all of this week privately meeting victims' and other groups, and holding six public meetings throughout Northern Ireland .
Next month the consultative group is planning to spend a number of days outside Ireland trying to reach an initial agreement on the outline of its report and recommendations, which are due for publication in May.
