The present crisis of confidence in the Government, and particularly in the personal authority of Bertie Ahern, comes at an extremely dangerous stage in the Northern Ireland peace process.
Proceedings in the Dail and headlines in the media are dominated, understandably enough, by allegations of sleaze and talk of a general election. At the same time, we are fast approaching a critical moment in the implementation of the Belfast Agreement which demands the most skilful management by, among others, the Government of this state.
The Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, has set March 10th as the date for the formation of an executive and the hand-over of powers. That is just under six weeks away. Before that, on February 15th, the Assembly is due to give its approval to the make-up of cross-Border bodies, an event which will allow Dr Mowlam to present the standing order which will bring the shadow executive into being.
Yet at this moment the parties in the North are more bitterly divided than at any time since the signing of the agreement. David Trimble insists he will not accept members of Sinn Fein into an executive unless the IRA makes a start on handing over its weapons. Gerry Adams and, even more so, Martin McGuinness, are adamant this will not happen. They argue the text of the Good Friday accord supports Sinn Fein and that there is no precondition of decommissioning.
If David Trimble will not accept this, Mr Adams says, the unionist leader should resign as First Minister.
This is serious enough. But inevitably, as always happens when the peace process is seen to falter, the lack of trust on all sides has triggered ugly consequences. The increase in the number and savagery of punishment attacks is the most dramatic and sickening example of this. There is no way a democratic society can afford to turn a blind eye to these. But, equally, it must be admitted it is going to be impossible to stop them unless there is increased confidence in the political and civic structures, such as the police.
For the moment the issue of punishment beatings dominates the media in Britain, as far as news from Northern Ireland is concerned. Tony Blair is coming under increasing pressure to halt prisoner releases.
Yesterday's debate in the House of Commons showed David Trimble and Seamus Mallon, supposedly partners in the project of implementing the agreement, deeply divided on the prisoner release issue.
Some readers will be tempted to say we have seen all this before - the whole peace process has been dogged by seemingly impossible crises which have been resolved at the last moment. To an extent, both sides are adopting a hard line in order to reassure their own supporters. But there is an important difference. All the signs are that we are reaching a genuine crunch over decommissioning.
In the past we were accustomed to seeing Tony Blair flying into Belfast, followed by Bertie Ahern. If necessary, President Clinton would come on the telephone from Washington. This combination of knocking heads together and appeals for the future of peace usually did the trick.
Now two out of three of these figures seem diminished in the influence they might bring to bear. The Taoiseach's position has been weakened by the rumours and alarums of recent days. We do not know if, or for how long, his Government will survive. There is a depressing sense of deja vu.
One is reminded of how it was when Ray Burke was heading the Irish team involved in the talks at Stormont. It was clear to many observers his domestic political problems meant he could not give his full attention to the job in hand, and that the sooner he resigned, the better for the peace process.
When these crises have arisen in the past the division of political responsibility has been clear enough. It has been Tony Blair's job to persuade David Trimble his best course is to push ahead with the political process, despite the reservations of many members of his own party.
Bertie Ahern has had the task of steadying the nationalist political community, particularly Sinn Fein, and convincing it the agreement can and will be an instrument for political inclusiveness.
The Taoiseach has handled this task with great skill, winning Mr Trimble's reluctant trust while at the same time keeping Sinn Fein on board.
But for some time now Mr Ahern has been sending out conflicting signals. It is far from clear where he stands on decommissioning. Sometimes he has appeared to put considerable pressure on Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness to use their influence to get the IRA to make a start in handing over weapons. At others he has said that he does not expect to see decommissioning in the immediate future. This is unnerving for both sides in the North.
To hard-liners in the republican movement it seems the Taoiseach is more sympathetic to David Trimble's problems than he is to the fears of the nationalist community. Unionists, for their part, accuse him of speaking with a forked tongue, depending upon his audience.
The Taoiseach, of course, has problems of his own with decommissioning, or rather the lack of it. The prospect of Dublin ministers sitting down in cross-Border bodies with members of Sinn Fein while the IRA holds on to its arms is likely to be deeply alarming to many people living in this State.
It may be necessary for David Trimble to accept Sinn Fein into an executive but, as we saw in the public reaction to the killing of Det Garda Jerry McCabe, different rules apply when it is our government and our police force.
It has never been more important for the British and Irish governments to make clear they share a common determination to press ahead with implementing the agreement.
The idea of "parking it" for an unspecified period, as David Trimble has suggested, would be seen as a victory by those on both sides who are determined to roll back the enormous progress made so far.
But that means Tony Blair and the Taoiseach should be devoting a great deal more time to solving the problems which the process now faces, including hardening attitudes on both sides over decommissioning. At times it seems Mo Mowlam is the only senior minister in either government who is prepared to defend the spirit and the letter of the agreement with real conviction.
More power to her, but this is a project which demands the full attention of both governments. Northern Ireland must not be allowed to become one of the casualties of the present crisis facing the Government.