The Secretary of State for the North Paul Murphy has said there is "everything to play for" in talks beginning tomorrow to try to resurrect the Northern Ireland peace process.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are due in Belfast tomorrow for talks with the North's political parties, amid speculation that a major breakthrough may be on the way.
Unconfirmed reports have suggested that the IRA may be considering an act of decommissioning to pave the way for a restoration of the suspended Northern Ireland Assembly and executive.
The Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble yesterday insisted that nothing less than full decommissioning and the disbandment of the IRA would be enough to end suspension.
Today, Mr Murphy said there was "a lot to be hopeful about" and said he was convinced that the parties were ready to make progress.
The Northern Ireland Secretary told BBC1's The Politics Show: "There have to be big moves all round. The business we face at the moment is a collapse of trust, a collapse of confidence that effectively led to the suspension of the assembly.
"In order to restore that trust, on the one hand we have to see a cessation of paramilitary activity in all its forms and on the other hand we have to address the stability of institutions and, quite rightly, fulfil all the agreements we signed up to on Good Friday 1998.
"There is everything to play for tomorrow and I think if people get together and talk about going forward and not looking backwards, there is a possibility - a very strong possibility - that we can deal with those issues positively in the days ahead of us.
Mr Murphy said the British government had no plans to postpone upcoming elections to the Assembly, in order to make time for the current problems to be overcome.
He denied reports the British government was considering an amnesty for IRA suspects on the run, but said consideration of a solution to the problem would be on the table tomorrow.
"It would have to be part of a package which meant something had to happen that was similarly dramatic on the paramilitary side as well," he said.
"We have not talked about amnesties. There are other ways in which we can deal with this issue. "The sort of things we are going to discuss with (Ulster Unionist leader) David Trimble and the other parties include these matters of on-the-runs.
It is not the only issue in front of us but it is one we are going to look at." He confirmed that the creation of a `verification monitor', who could ensure that paramilitaries hold to any promise to cease activities, was being considered.
"There have to be guarantees for all parties, on the one hand to ensure there is a genuine cessation of paramilitary activity and on the other to ensure that the institutions are stable," he said.
"If we have got these things in place - and they are core to the problem we have - there has to be some sort of mechanism which gives guarantees to both parties."
Mr Murphy added: "What we have to do tomorrow and in the days ahead of us is to ensure that we restore trust and confidence between parties, try to get a deal and agreement between the pro-agreement parties and then try to go forward from there."
PA