Ahern warns of risks in long-term power sharing

The Irish Prime Minister said yesterday that "vacuums and tensions" would emerge in Northern Ireland if its power-sharing government was suspended for too long.

Bertie Ahern said he believed it was "a pity" that the province's political institutions looked likely to be suspended, but that the interim period was an opportunity to try to "move away from the past".

Interviewed on BBC1's Breakfast with Frost, the Irish leader said he would work with Tony Blair to help to resolve "outstanding problems" in the province such as "demilitarisation ...the whole issue of paramilitary activities and ... the sectarianism that is in northern society".

The suspension of the power-sharing Executive, expected to take effect today, follows allegations of republican intelligence gathering inside the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Irish Prime Minister hinted that a fresh wave of violence could erupt if the political institutions remained out of action for a long time.

He said: "I do believe, given a span of time, and hopefully not too much time ­ because I would not like to see the institutions being suspended for long ... we have to try between the parties to build trust and come to solutions to these problems.

"It is a pity we have to suspend institutions to resolve the problems," added Mr Ahern, "but if that is what has to happen, we should use the time ... to try to resolve this because there are elections next May.

"I do not think it would be a good thing to have a suspension all the way to next May, because that would create vacuums and tensions, and you and I know what happens when that happens."