us – that beyond any shadow of doubt, the arms of the IRA have now been decommissioned. Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern also stated at the time: The weapons of the IRA are gone, and are gone in a manner which has been verified and witnessed. However, despite the conclusion of the IICD agreeing with the figures provided by the British security forces, unnamed sources in MI5 and the PSNI have reported to the press that not all IRA arms were destroyed during the process, a claim which so far remains unsubstantiated. These reports have since been scotched by the group overseeing the activities of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland – the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC). In its latest report, dated April 2006, the IMC points out that it has no reason to disbelieve the IRA or information to suspect that the group has not fully decommissioned. Rather, it indicated that any weaponry that had not been handed in had been retained by individuals outside the IRA's control. Excerpt from the IMC's 10th report: Indeed, our present assessment is that such of the arms as were reported to us as having been retained, would have been withheld under local control despite the instructions of the leadership. We note that, as reported by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD), the leadership claimed only to have decommissioned all the arms "under its control". The relevant points are that the amount of un-surrendered material was not significant in comparison to what was decommissioned and that these reports do not cast doubt on the declared intention of the IRA leadership to eschew terrorism and to follow the political path. We will continue to monitor the position. See also List of weapons used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army Florida Four Colm Murphy Gerry McGeough Whitey Bulger Martin Ferris George Harrison Patrick Nee Howth gun-running SS Libau References Arms trafficking International maritime incidents Provisional Irish Republican Army weapons