Offences against the State: The Government has said it hopes Thursday's IRA statement marked the beginning of a "transformation" process where the Government could be able to lift the current order outlawing the Provisional IRA.
In a statement to The Irish Times yesterday, a Government spokeswoman stressed, however, that Thursday's statement was not sufficient to justify lifting the current prohibition order.
Her statement also outlined the Government's position that the IRA's formal existence or non-existence was "no longer the critical issue" once it had ceased activities outlawed in anti-terrorist legislation. A person faces a jail sentence of two years for membership of an illegal organisation under the 1939 Offences Against the State Act.
"The key issue has been to get the IRA to stop its armed campaign," the statement outlined. "Once it is not engaged in illegal activity (as referred to in section 18 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939), its formal existence or non-existence is no longer the critical issue."
Section 18 of the legislation details a series of activities that make an organisation illegal. This includes using force or violence to obtain a change to the Constitution or engaging in the "attainment of any particular object, lawful or unlawful, by violent, criminal, or other unlawful means".
Under section 19 of the legislation, the Government has the power to outlaw specific organisations it believes to be in breach of the Act under a prohibition order.
According to the Government spokeswoman, the IRA "as at present constituted remains an illegal organisation".
"It is subject to a suppression order under the Offences Against the State Act, 1939. The assets of the IRA are held illegally by that organisation and are thus forfeited to the State." She said the law "has not changed".
"The Government and the forces of law and order will continue to uphold that law."
However, the statement said legislation was not needed to lift the specific prohibition order on the IRA. "It is for the Government to decide whether an illegal organisation has been fundamentally transformed to such an extent that it ceases to be in breach of the Constitution and section 18 of the Offences Against the State Act," the statement said.
"While we hope that yesterday is the beginning of a fundamental transformation of that organisation, a statement of intent is not sufficient to justify the Government treating an organisation as no longer being unconstitutional or illegal."
The spokeswoman said if the IRA ceased activities prohibited under the Act, the Government could move to have the prohibition order lifted.
According to security sources, the State is not expected to take future prosecutions against suspect Provisionals for membership, if the organisation adheres to its statement. However, Government sources indicated last night that the lifting of the prohibition order was still "a long way off".