I have not heard a viable alternative to what I have put forward, and the reality is that the (power sharing) strategy that we adopted in May has failed,

True power is enlightenment with a dose of harsh reality

I think Sinn Fein's participation in the talks is over. But the process, the talks must continue. We cannot allow a minority who are committed to terrorism to dictate to the majority who want to see peace, who want to see democratic advancement in Northern Ireland.

Clearly what we need to know from the IRA is whether this is the beginning of a process which will lead to the decommissioning of their weapons or whether this is as good as it gets.

In the past, decommissioning as a process has been shrouded in secrecy and if we are to increase public confidence in the process then we want it to be more transparent,

Clearly what we need to know from the IRA is whether this is the beginning of a process which will lead to the decommissioning of their weapons or whether this is as good as it gets,