THE Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, and the British Prime Minister, Mr John Major, are to hold an Anglo Irish Summit meeting in London on December 9th. The talks announcement comes amid deepening concern over the prospects for a new IRA ceasefire.
Senior sources indicated last night that the two leaders may also discuss the latest developments in a telephone conversation before the weekend.
The summit is the second of such bi annual meetings - the last took place at the opening of the multi party talks at Stormont in June - and will be seen as critical to a possible breakthrough if the present impasse still exists at that stage, sources said.
Mr Bruton was scheduled to visit London as part of his EU presidential tour of capitals in preparation for the Council of Ministers meeting in Dublin next month.
But, in the light of the present peace talks situation, it has been decided to hold the summit on the same date.
In spite of the British government's assertion that there is no question of negotiating a new position on the terms of Sinn Fein's. involvement in talks, the Taoiseach yesterday said there was still "certainly a possibility" that existing hurdles could be overcome.
His optimism was echoed by the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, who said that the gap between the sides could be bridged.
According to Mr Bruton, intensive negotiations are continuing on an hourly basis which involve a number of parties, including the two governments, "with a view to finding a basis to resolve the issue".
Asked if he really believed there was a chance of overcoming the difficulties and if the end of the road had not been reached, Mr Bruton said the basis was still there to turn possibility "into a probability and finally into an actuality".
He agreed with Mr Mitchel McLaughlin of Sinn Fein that what was required at this stage was a "leap of faith". This involved a willingness to believe other people's good faith and to take the concerns of others into account.
Meanwhile, the Government is expected to agree to a Fianna Fail request to hold a Dail debate on Northern Ireland next week, probably on Wednesday.
Government sources said they were willing to hold such a debate but that the presence of the Taoiseach or Tanaiste was desirable. Both politicians are expected to be out of the State next week.
The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, said that, even if there is an unequivocal IRA ceasefire, the British government was not willing or able to challenge the unionist veto on Sinn Fein's participation in all party talks. This was the "real stumbling block", he said.
Following a meeting of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party, its spokesman on foreign affairs, Mr Ray Burke, said that if the IRA called an unequivocal ceasefire and Sinn Fein signed up to the Mitchell Principles, it should be allowed "immediate entry" to talks.