Published Wednesday, 01 April 2009
He also told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster that he remained committed to closing down decommissioning legislation if major progress was not made by August.
In January, Mr Woodward got the backing of MPs to extend the work of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning in the hope that loyalists will follow the path taken by the Provisional IRA, which put its arms beyond use in 2005.
"The reason I asked for the further and final year, and let me underline the word final, of the extension of the powers of decommissioning was I had very good reason to believe that the (commission) was making meaningful progress," he said.
"I believe that we will get there in a matter of months and not years, which is why I am confident in saying that this is the last time I would want to see the extension."
"If there has been no meaningful progress by the middle of August this year, in other words six months after we sought this extension from Parliament, I will bring an order in immediately to bring it to an end.
"Now I believe that these people have heard that message and have understood it."
The minister said he believed that loyalist leaders had sought to maintain calm in loyalist areas in the aftermath of the dissident republican attacks in which two soldiers and a police officer were murdered.
"Part of the past was an attack by a dissident republican group would be met by an attack by a dissident loyalist group," said Mr Woodward.
"They went out into their communities and said 'Do not respond, do not take a life for a life'."
He said government wanted to help loyalism take its place in society, but added: "But they have to decommission. That is non-negotiable.
"Guns have no part in any normal society in Northern Ireland, whoever you are."