Measures will be taken to prevent political drift, including bringing forward British-Irish "partnership arrangements", if the Northern Ireland parties fail to agree a devolution deal by the deadline of November 24th, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said in Oxford last night.
There will be no shelving of the Belfast Agreement, even if the British and Irish governments are forced to abandon their attempt to restore devolution, the Minister told the annual meeting of the British-Irish Association (BIA).
"The Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair have made clear their intentions. If, by November 24th, a power-sharing Executive has not been formed, the two governments will bring forward partnership arrangements to ensure that the Good Friday agreement is actively developed across all its functions," he added.
"As part of that they have also made clear their commitment to a step-change in North-South co-operation and action for the benefit of all," he told the BIA, which is attended by British and Irish politicians and officials, academics, community representatives, clergy, journalists and others with an interest in the peace process.
"We are agreed on this and we are prepared to give practical expression to it. Of course, in the absence of devolved institutions, this will be less than everyone would wish. In a sense there will be no winners from this outcome. We will all lose, but none more so than the political parties in Northern Ireland," Mr Ahern said.
The Minister reiterated that there would be no extension of the November 24th deadline. And, urging Northern politicians to grasp their current opportunity for a power-sharing deal, he said that it was "inconceivable that the Irish Government would turn their back" on the agreement.
"There is simply no practical alternative to the agreement. If we were to start discussing one, we would end up with all the same fundamental elements," he said.
"The agreement was negotiated as a fresh start for Northern Ireland, laying the foundations for a future based on the principles of mutual respect, equality and partnership. These are the indispensable and immutable cornerstones on which we build."
The Minister said that after the peaceful summer marching season, the engagement between all the parties involved in the Assembly Programme for Government Committee throughout the summer and the continuing positive Independent Monitoring Commission reports on IRA activity, the opportunity to restore devolution was "there for the taking".
Intensive talks are scheduled for the second week in October.
