THE Government has no plan to conduct forensic testing on decommissioned paramilitary arms, senior Government sources asserted yesterday.
They categorically rejected a report that such a proposal, which would be in conflict with the recommendations of the Mitchell report, is being considered by the British and Irish governments.
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, is expected to be questioned by Fianna Fail on the matter when the Dail resumes on Wednesday.
A Government spokesman said it was "total nonsense" and "absolutely incorrect" to suggest that a plan to allow for the forensic testing of decommissioned weapons was being considered. "No such suggestion has been put by us," he added.
He was responding to a report in the Sunday Tribune that Mr Bruton and Mr Major were considering a major departure from the Mitchell report on paramilitary decommissioning by examining a proposal to permit the security forces to conduct forensic examinations on weapons and explosives handed over by the IRA and loyalist groups.
A key recommendation in Senator George Mitchell's report is that: "Armaments made available for decommissioning, whether directly or indirectly, should be exempt under law from forensic examination".
Government sources confirmed, however, that the legal and technical difficulties involved in drawing up legislation on decommissioning had been raised with the British government. These difficulties arose from the fact that, unlike the British, Ireland had a written Constitution and the decommissioning legislation would have to conform with it.
The Taoiseach referred to one such difficulty in the Dail last week when he told Opposition leaders that the issues surrounding the decommissioning legislation were quite complex, "particularly in regard to people who mighty wish, for example, evidence based on particular weapons to be used in their defence".
A Government spokesman said last night that, nothwithstanding legal technicalities, it was the Government's firm intention to exempt decommissioned arms from forensic testing, as recommended in the Mitchell report.
A senior source at the Northern Ireland Office said yesterday that the "whole area of forensic testing was one of the issues currently being discussed at ministerial level, but it was stressed that "no decision has yet been made whether the government will stick with it or not. It would be preempting those discussions to say what the final outcome will be.
However, the NIO confirmed that a decision on the issue would be made before the start of all party talks. The British government's position "will be made before June 10th", the source said.