A final attempt to break the deadlock in the Northern talks before the June 30th deadline will be made after the European elections in a series of intensive talks in Belfast and London, the Government has announced.
The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister have both cancelled planned visits to Latin America to supervise the talks and to join them for their closing stages.
While the Taoiseach expressed confidence last night that a breakthrough could be achieved in the talks, there is concern that divisions within unionism will destabilise the process if the Ulster Unionist Party candidate, Mr Jim Nicholson, fares badly in tomorrow's European Parliament poll.
However, in a telephone conversation last weekend, Mr Ahern and Mr Blair agreed to hold the talks and to cancel their trips to the EU/Latin American summit on June 27th and 28th. Mr Ahern will not now participate in trade visits to Mexico and Argentina immediately before and after the summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The governments hope that once the European elections are out of the way - and if Mr Nicholson is safely re-elected - the Northern parties will be able to show the flexibility necessary to break the impasse over the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons. However, the time available is short, as the climax of the marching season and the annual culmination of the Drumcree standoff are looming.
The talks may begin as early as next Tuesday and will involve the two governments and the pro-agreement parties in Northern Ireland. The discussions will be conducted "at various levels", according to a Government statement.
Government officials will participate in some of the exchanges while the Taoiseach and Prime Minister will participate in others. The Irish and British governments are to contact the pro-agreement parties over the next few days to work out details of when, where and in what format the talks will take place.
The plan makes more likely yet another intensive talking session in the final days of June. Mr Blair has set June 30th as "an absolute deadline" for the devolution of powers to the new institutions established by the Belfast Agreement. However, it is not clear what will happen if this deadline is not met.
According to a Government statement last night: "The Taoiseach said it was vital that the implementation of all aspects of the Belfast Agreement, as the solemn will of the people, North and South, should now proceed without further delay. He called on all sides to approach the discussions in a positive and constructive spirit: if they did this, he was confident that an acceptable basis for a breakthrough could be achieved by June 30th."
Most of the talks will take place in Belfast, although some of the meetings over the two-week period may also be in London.