The Taoiseach and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have arrived at Stormont where they are expected to set a timetable today for the creation of a power-sharing government at Stormont.
Following a round of individual meetings with the North's political parties, the leaders will also take part in a session with all the parties reporting back on the day's talks. They will meet a Democratic Unionist delegation headed by their leader the Reverend Ian Paisley. Talks are also scheduled with Sinn Féin, the Ulster Unionists, the SDLP and the Alliance Party.
The Assembly was recalled in May in the hope that parties would be able to build up trust and confidence in each other ahead of the November deadline.
Prospects of a deal to restore devolution are not good however with the Taoiseach warning yesterday that if the parties did not seize this opportunity to restore the Northern Executive and Assembly then the next chance to reinstate devolution could be "light years" away.
Sinn Féin chief negotiator Martin McGuinness, whose party yesterday began a review of its policy towards the recently restored Assembly, last night accused the DUP of setting about the task of blocking progress.
His party also rejected a proposal that the Assembly should debate the work so far of the Preparation for Government committee set up at Stormont by Northern Secretary Peter Hain to identify issues which need to be addressed before the return of devolution.
Party president Gerry Adams and Mr McGuinness have demanded in recent days that if the DUP will not strike a deal, the governments must press ahead with Plan B: implementing all other elements of the Belfast Agreement aside from devolution.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan has accused both the DUP and Sinn Féin of seeking to adopt positions where each could blame the other for the failure to find agreement in November.
Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson described the DUP and Sinn Féin as the "problem parties" who were blocking the opportunity for local politicians to run Northern Ireland.
A group of Ballymena teenagers from state schools, integrated schools and Catholic schools will meet the leaders in an anti-sectarian initiative following the murder in the town last month of Catholic teenager Michael McIlveen.