The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, has said the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, is failing to see "the big picture" by questioning Sinn Fein's links to the Provisional IRA.
"Mr Bruton's eagerness to attack Sinn Fein, and to deny our electorate their democratic rights and entitlements, is at odds with his alleged support for the peace process," said Mr Adams.
He said the attitude of Mr Bruton towards Sinn Fein was "in stark contrast" to his attitude to unionism. "The breaking of the agreement and the breaching of deadlines by the UUP, as well as the recent farce at Stormont, caused no outburst from Mr Bruton."
Mr Adams accused the Fine Gael leader of "pandering" to unionism while "attacking" republicanism. "It is this inability to see the big picture, to adopt inclusiveness and an acceptance of people's democratic rights, which are the hallmarks of Mr Bruton's approach to the peace process."
On Sunday, Mr Bruton said that if Sinn Fein and the IRA were accepted as effectively separate organisations - as the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, appeared to suggest recently - then the Mitchell Principles and the principles of non-violence in the Belfast Agreement were "meaningless and unworkable".
The May 2000 deadline, set out in the Belfast Agreement for the completion of paramilitary disarmament, was highlighted yesterday by the Liberal Democratic Party spokesman on Northern Ireland, Mr Lembit Opik.
On a visit to west Belfast, Mr Opik criticised the approach to the peace process taken by the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, who he said had set "artificial deadlines" which were not successful.
"The big deadline is May 2000 and if decommissioning hasn't been completed by then, in that case Sinn Fein and the IRA are blatantly in breach of the agreement."
However, Mr Opik believed that even if September's review failed, the peace process could not be rolled back. "The public in Northern Ireland have got too high an expectation to let it all just flow back into the sands."
This view was not shared by the Alliance party Assembly member, Ms Eileen Bell, who said yesterday there was widespread concern among people that violence and intimidation were once again setting the agenda in Northern Ireland.
She said the lack of success in the political process had left the field clear for the people of violence who had wasted no time in stepping into the void. "This will, undoubtedly, reduce the chance of a stable outcome to our present political situation," she added.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said he did not accept that the Provisional IRA ceasefire was coming apart at the seams.
In an RTE interview, Mr O'Donoghue said he was of the view the IRA ceasefire was intact and, in support of that contention, he referred to a statement by an Sinn Fein spokesman to that effect.
The Minister made no reference to security reports on responsibility for the recent Fort Lauderdale gun-running incident and the murder of Mr Charles Bennett in Belfast. But department sources said any reports that had become available in recent days indicated there was "a lack of clarity about the situation."
Mr O'Donoghue suggested the intervention of former US Senator George Mitchell in the autumn would be crucial in bringing both sides to the table with a view to forming a Northern Ireland executive. "We have reached an impasse. We have reached a difficult impasse. But it is by no means a hopeless impasse," he said.