First Minister Ian Paisley has clashed with Northern Secretary Shaun Woodward over the devolution of police and justice powers scheduled for May.
Their New Year messages showed sharp divisions which may set the tone for the new political term at Stormont.
Mr Woodward said that the people of Northern Ireland expected the political parties "to finish the job of devolution and devolve policing and justice powers to the Assembly".
"It is for the parties to decide when the time is right, but the [ British] government will be ready to make the transfer of powers next May as envisaged in the St Andrews Agreement."
Only when devolution "is completed" can Northern Ireland's full potential be realised, he said.
"When Northern Ireland's politicians have the shared confidence to take over the full range of devolved powers the rest of the world will know that they have truly broken away from the past and are intent on building a new and better future."
He hoped the parties "will embrace that challenge and work together to complete the process of devolution which has begun with such pace and promise".
However, the DUP leader accused the Northern Secretary of a false assertion, adding that he "had not signed up to May 2008 or any other arbitrary date set by the government for the devolution of policing and justice".
"It is not the government who will dictate the timetable but the people of Northern Ireland through their political representatives," Dr Paisley said. "The DUP has been consistent in maintaining that policing and justice powers can only be devolved when the circumstances are right and when we are satisfied that there is the necessary confidence within the community to support such a move."
He reminded the Northern Secretary of the "triple lock" veto on further devolution of policing and justice powers. "Before parliament would vote to amend the legislation to devolve the powers, the First Minister would have to agree to such a move and the Assembly would have to ratify it. We are a long way from that point," Dr Paisley said. He claimed that recent opinion poll findings illustrated a clear lack of public belief that the time was ripe for a local justice minister.
Dr Paisley admitted that Sinn Féin "has come a long way since the days when they claimed the police were legitimate targets and when republicans refused to recognise the judicial system".
But he warned Mr Woodward: "The DUP will not be led by the nose on this issue. We will not act until the conditions are right and confidence exists across the community for policing powers to be handled at Stormont."
In his New Year message, SDLP leader Mark Durkan said the Stormont Assembly must build on the hope of 2007's agreement to share power. "As political leaders we must strive to create a better Ireland for its entire people, in terms of providing investment, economic growth, health, education and infrastructure," he said. "These are the real issues that people on the ground across the North want their politicians to deal with."