The Minister for Justice has said Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Martin Ferris are directly responsible for the situation that has arisen following the return of the three men convicted of training FARC rebels in Colombia.
Speaking to RTÉ News following his return from holidays, Michael McDowell said the return of the men had damaged the Northern Ireland peace process.
Mr McDowell said the Government would consider any application from the Colombian authorities to have the men extradited.
Mr McDowell also said the United States has expressed concern at a diplomatic level over the case.
Mr McDowell said he believed the three men - James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley - had travelled to Colombia as part of an IRA operation sanctioned by the IRA’s army council to sell technical know-how on bomb making to the FARC rebels.
As a result, he said, responsibility for the crisis caused by the men's conviction and their subsequent return to Ireland lies with the Provisional leadership.
He said the greatest issue facing Ireland at the moment was reconciling orange and green.
But he claimed the return of the three men had damaged the peace process by damaging the sense of trust between the governments and the parties involved in it.
Mr McDowell also said the whole affair had damaged the perception of this country as one bound by the rule of law, and claimed it would take a long time to deal with the issues.
He added that Mr Adams, Mr McGuinness and Mr Ferris were not likely to contribute to solving the current crisis.
The claims have been rejected by Sinn Féin, who have called on the Justice Minister to stop intervening in the judicial system.
Mr McDowell said the issue would be discussed at next week’s Cabinet meeting.
