A plan to get the Northern Assembly up and running by the summer will be discussed by the Taoiseach and the British prime minister when they meet in Brussels this morning. However, Sinn Féin and the SDLP warned last night that they were still opposed to this strategy.
Meeting in the margins of the EU summit, Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair are hoping the Assembly can meet for six weeks before the summer holidays and that enough confidence can be built among the Northern parties to facilitate the establishment of a power-sharing executive in the autumn.
The two leaders have already agreed the broad outlines of the plan and if they decide today that it is workable, they will travel to the North in the next few weeks to formally announce the initiative.
However, it became clear last night that Sinn Féin remains opposed to the emerging plan. The party's president, Gerry Adams, told The Irish Times that "nothing has changed" in respect of Sinn Féin's opposition to any plan to allow the Assembly to function in any form - whether called "shadow" or "transitional" - without the inclusive executive prescribed by the Belfast Agreement.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan also warned London and Dublin against any proposal which would see British "direct rule" ministers answering to the Assembly in the absence of an inclusive power-sharing executive.
It appears the governments will convene the Assembly, elected in November 2004, and will then make it clear that, at the end of a defined period, a decision will have to be made on an executive.
Under the terms of the Belfast Agreement, the Assembly can meet for six weeks before the d'Hondt mechanism to elect an executive is required to produce a resolution. The two governments are working on a device to prolong the period during which the Assembly can meet beyond this. However, they are not prepared to provide for an unlimited time-frame, as desired by the DUP.
Government sources indicated that the Assembly would be convened as quickly as possible and the initial six-week session will take place before the summer holidays. There is a recognition that six weeks will not be enough, but the precise mechanism for the extension of the Assembly's life is unclear. It appears the Assembly will be organised so that it can form committees to scrutinise the work of the British ministers who are currently operating direct rule from Westminster. However, this suggestion has met with strong opposition from both Sinn Féin and the SDLP.
Mr Adams repeated his view that the Assembly should be summoned in advance of the marching season and given the six weeks defined in statute to form an executive.