New year brings new realities sharply home to Sinn Fein

Dáil Sketch: It was a new year and a new dispensation when the Dáil resumed after the Christmas recess. The Taoiseach began with an understatement, noting that events in the peace process had "taken a bad turn"during the holidays. Thereafter, the euphemisms were put away, and it was all straight talking between Mr Ahern and Sinn Féin.

It was a sign of the times that Ray Burke barely merited a mention. As sparks flew, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin did suggest that the Taoiseach had a "hard neck" to label Sinn Féin as criminals, given the record of his own party. But for once the theme of Fianna Fáil's misdemeanours was not taken up by other members of the opposition, and Sinn Féin remained all alone in the dock.

In the most damning of his several indictments, Bertie Ahern set aside the Belfast bank robbery altogether and talked instead about punishment attacks.

Speaking softly but making a big impact, he congratulated the republican movement on its ability to "turn off all punishment beatings while the negotiations were in progress" and, as soon as the talks failed, turn them on again. His point was illustrated with a list of recent attacks. "I'll give you full marks for discipline," he told the Sinn Féin TDs, as the air crackled; "but not for anything else".

When a furious Mr Ó Caoláin retorted that the Taoiseach's new attitude had nothing to do with the bank heist and everything to do with saving votes in "Ballybough and Ballyconnell", Mr Ahern was quietly devastating.

If he had been motivated only by the interests of party politics, he said, he would not have spent years bringing Sinn Féin "into the centre" and "ignoring all kinds of things" while trying to convince everybody from US presidents to the DUP that the Provisional movement could be trusted.

As the Dáil's two self-styled republican parties traded angry insults, Mr Ahern was one of the more restrained people in the house - especially when asked by Enda Kenny if he agreed with the Tánaiste that Martin Ferris was a member of the IRA army council. Sitting a few feet away from the FG leader, Mr Ferris stroked his beard inscrutably. But Bertie kicked to touch.

He didn't know who was on the army council, he said, despite "heated exchanges" on the subject with Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. But what he did know was that, in terms of public confidence, the vaults had been cleaned out on December 20th. It was up to the Provisional movement to restore something by making a clean break with crime.

Up in the distinguished visitors' gallery, a Chinese delegation led by the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Zhang Zhijun, sat quietly through the proceedings.