The British government confirmed tonight that it would withdraw the use of plastic bullets in Northern Ireland if an acceptable alternative could be found by the end of the year.
In a response to a report from Human Rights Commission which claimed the new form of bullets were more lethal than what went before, Northern Ireland Office security minister Ms Jane Kennedy said it remained the Government's objective to ensure that not a single baton round would need to be fired by the police or army during disturbances.
"In the great majority of police districts, where there has been no sustained major public disorder, no rounds have been fired for five years or more," she said. "Building on that is our objective. With good policing and the support of the community it can be achieved."
Ms Kennedy said the government hoped to further reduce the need for baton rounds by making use of a water cannon this summer as well as the progressive equipping of police officers with personal incapacitant sprays.
The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, welcomed the announcement. He said the Government had "grave concerns about the use of baton rounds in public order situations in Northern Ireland and, more so, in the light of the fatalities and serious injuries caused."
He said the announcement will "bolster the process" of implementing the Patten reforms.
Sinn Féin has insisted that it could not endorse a police service which used the weapon which claimed the lives of 17 people and injured hundreds more since it was first deployed.
The party's policing spokesman Mr Gerry Kelly described the statement as a "step in the right direction" but still insisted plastic bullets should be banned immediately.
"The key issue for Sinn Fein remains that these weapons should be immediately removed because plastic bullets have maimed and killed people and indeed many of the victims have been children," the North Belfast MLA said. "While I do think Jane Kennedy's statement did not go far enough, it does represent forward movement in that they are now committed to trying to get these weapons withdrawn in 2003 as opposed to 2005."