THE Government has reaffirmed that meetings between senior officials and Sinn Fein can take place, only if there is a genuine belief that an IRA ceasefire is imminent.
Denying reports that a ban had been placed on meetings with Sinn Fein, the Government spokesman said that "this is not a departure in policy".
The position of the Government after the Canary Wharf bombing, which brought an end to the cease fire almost a year ago, was that with officials would take place on the basis that they would lead to the attainment of an early resumed ceasefire, he said.
The spokesman said that meetings were not taking place simply for meetings sake.
Referring to the Taoiseach's comments on the resumption of the Dail on Wednesday, the Government spokesman said the Government had spelled out "in precise and definitive language what was said in general terms about such meetings when the IRA restarted violence".
After what he described as nine major IRA attacks in the past three weeks, Mr Bruton told the Dail that the official channel of communication could be used "whenever the Government receives 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," Mr Bruton said on Wednesday, "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, quickly".
