THE appointment of the former US senator, Mr George Mitchell, to a key role in the forthcoming North talks has been widely welcomed in Dublin, with the IRA now strongly urged to restore its ceasefire.
Following publication yesterday of the two governments' package detailing how the talks should be organised, the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, said he hoped the IRA could "find the vision to facilitate Sinn Fein's participation". Both governments wanted to see Sinn Fein in the process as an equal partner.
"It is now up to them. Now is the moment of decision and there can be no reason to fudge a decision. We seek the unequivocal restoration of the ceasefire of August 1994", he said. As soon as that happened, Sinn Fein would be invited to take a full part in the negotiations.
"The basis that we have now established seeks to exclude nobody from the table and no issue from the agenda. We are at the start of a process of real and meaningful change. We will enter this process driven only by an unremitting search for agreement and a new beginning", Mr Spring said.
The joint documents published yesterday offered the best basis possible for meaningful and serious negotiations. These negotiations were about a "new beginning in all our relationships for Northern Ireland, within the island of Ireland and between the two islands".
Agreement had been reached on a comprehensive agenda for all three strands and the governments were also agreed on procedural guidelines to facilitate the launch of talks.
The leader of Democratic Left, Mr De Rossa, said the two governments were "rock solid" on the principle that Sinn Fein could not be admitted to the peace talks process without a restoration of the ceasefire. There would be no compromise on this vital issue, he added.
Progress could only be make in the talks through a genuine willingness on all sides to compromise and to move from rigid political positions. Welcoming the involvement of Senator Mitchell and the other members of the international body on decommissioning, he said their presence would be an enormous asset to the process.
A spokesman for the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, also warmly welcomed Senator Mitchell's involvement as chairman of the plenary session. Fianna Fail was the first party to call for his participation in the talks, he added, and Mr Ahern hoped that his role would allow him to "actively clear blockages when they occur".
Such obstacles would inevitably arise given the nature of these negotiations, and Senator Mitchell had the potential to ensure the process kept moving forward. Fianna Fail would, however, have liked to see him chair Strand Two of the talks, the spokesman added.
The leader of the Progressive Democrats, Ms Mary Harney, also called on the IRA to reinstate the ceasefire to ensure that Sinn Fein could take part "with its fresh electoral mandate".
The opportunity now presenting itself must not be passed up, she added, expressing the hope that it represented a new era of reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Ms Harney also welcomed Senator Mitchell's role in the talks, given his great capacity to rise above the political differences involved and his sense of fairness and balance.