The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister are almost certain to travel to Belfast early next week for the climax of a period of intensive talks designed to break the logjam in the peace process.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, confirmed last night that both men intend to go to Stormont to participate in the talks.
Mr Ahern and Mr Blair spoke at length yesterday on the fringe of the EU summit, their second discussion in less than 24 hours. Further talks are likely today before the summit ends.
The two men are discussing a joint strategy to resolve the impasse over arms decommissioning, which is preventing the formation of an executive in Northern Ireland.
Government sources expect the pace of discussions in the North to quicken dramatically in the coming 10 days.
While no official deadline has been set, events have ensured that Friday week - Good Friday, the anniversary of the Belfast Agreement - is the effective deadline in the minds of the two governments and the Northern political parties for progress.
In the Dail on Tuesday Mr Ahern warned there was "no easy solution" and said "the only way out of the current impasse is for everyone to give a little bit".
Sources in both governments, however, believe that if there is to be any "give" from the two sides on the decommissioning issue, it will only emerge very close to the Good Friday deadline.
Meanwhile Government officials continued a round of discussions with the Northern political parties in Belfast yesterday. The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs Ms Liz O'Donnell, will join the talks at Stormont today. According to Government sources Mr Ahern and Mr Blair will join the talks so long as some progress is being made. Their role would be to try to give the process a final top-level political "push".
The talks are expected to enter a "crisis mode" from next Monday when Dr Mowlam says she will trigger the d'Hondt mechanism in the Northern Assembly, which should then lead to the selection of members of the new executive.
If, as is almost certain, this does not lead to the immediate formation of an executive, intensive discussions will take place seeking to narrow the gap between the stated positions of the Ulster Unionist Party and the republican movement.
It is understood that Mr Blair and Mr Ahern last night explored possible mechanisms and scenarios designed to narrow the gap between the Ulster Unionist Party position that some "product" - explosives, detonators and firearms - be decommissioned, and the stated republican movement position that there will be no arms hand-over.