The government delegation returns to Belfast today believing the general shape of a deal on decommissioning and the formation of an executive has been accepted by the Ulster Unionists and Sinn Fein but that vital details have yet to be agreed.
After an intense series of meetings at Stormont yesterday with separate Sinn Fein and UUP delegations, a Government spokesman said "real progress" had been made. The Taoiseach returned to Dublin last night, but was expected at Hillsborough Castle at 8.15 a.m. today to meet the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair.
The two men will travel from there to Stormont, arriving at 9.30 a.m for a final day of what are expected to be difficult talks at which both Sinn Fein and the UUP will be asked to move from entrenched positions.
Under the proposed deal whose shape emerged throughout yesterday, Sinn Fein will be asked to accept that IRA weapons must be decommissioned by May 2000, and that a convincing timetable for this decommissioning must be agreed with the head of the International Decommissioning Body, Gen John de Chastelain.
Government sources said they believed the Ulster Unionists were set to move from their previous "no guns, no government" position to one where they would consider accepting a formula involving Sinn Fein giving convincing commitments on decommissioning, and a credible timetable for it.
Sources suggested last night that if a deal was made, an executive could be named this week but would not meet until September. By then, convincing evidence that the republican commitments on decommissioning were being honoured would have to be produced. It is understood that a proposal to set a deadline for some decommissioning - September of December were being mentioned last night - is also to be considered today.
The broad outline of this deal took shape during lengthy talks between the two prime ministers with Sinn Fein, and separately with the Ulster Unionists. Yesterday morning, Mr Ahern met Sinn Fein leaders on his own in an effort to get stronger commitments on decommissioning from that party than has been possible in the past.
In the afternoon he and Mr Blair met Sinn Fein for 75 minutes, and had a similarly lengthy meeting with the Ulster Unionists to see if such commitments from Sinn Fein would be acceptable to them, and to discuss what sanction would be imposed on Sinn Fein if the commitments were not met.
Mr Ahern is expected to be joined again today at Stormont by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, and the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, who returns to Ireland this morning after a week-long visit to South America, is also likely to join the talks.