Taoiseach Brian Cowen and British prime minister Gordon Brown are tonight attempting to agree a blueprint with the main Northern parties to prevent the collapse of the Northern Executive and Assembly.
Both leaders are again working late into the night at Hillsborough Castle in their push to find an eleventh hour agreement between the DUP and Sinn Féin, chiefly on policing and justice, and parading.
Mr Cowen and Mr Brown hosted roundtable talks with the five main parties at 7pm where they tried to put together their “best read” of what would constitute a formula for ending the deadlock threatening the power-sharing institutions.
The Taoiseach and British prime minister, according to well-placed source, proposed that there should be a pre-Westminster date for devolving policing and justice powers to the Northern Executive — which is the longstanding key demand of Sinn Féin.
Sources said that the date could be early May. This could be line with Sinn Féin’s requirements as the British general election is expected to be called for sometime later that month.
The two leaders also proposed after a long day of talks that there should be significant changes to the methods of dealing with contentious parades. “What is key is that there is cross-community support for the mechanisms to address parades and that they enhance the prospects of resolving contentious parades,” said a senior source.
This was designed to try to address the chief demand of the DUP leadership over parades, the sources said. DUP leader Peter Robinson had been seeking the abolition of the Parades Commission.
It is understood that the commission would remain in existence pending a review which would examine whether there could be a workable alternative to the commission, whether the remit commission could be changed or expanded, and whether there could be other arrangements that would operate in tandem with the commission.
Sources added that the two leaders were also seeking to devise a broad-framed formula that would also address issues such as the Irish language and tackling sectarianism.
The plenary last for some 90 minutes during which progress was made, according to senior sources. Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness sat beside DUP leader Peter Robinson and his deputy Nigel Dodds at the plenary. They all appeared in cheerful mood.
The Minister for Foreign Affair Micheal Martin told reporters that the plenary was “very positive” and was providing “a constructive platform” for a series of bilaterals that were taking place late tonight.
Mr Cowen and Mr Brown at the end of the meeting urged the parties to consult together to discuss the various proposals and ideas for ending the logjam, according to the talks insiders.
The leaders in turn then met to determine if they could based on the plenary
“We cannot predict an outcome but the plenary was positive and constructive,” said a senior source. “There is no predetermined outcome to what is happening but all the parties are seriously engaged and the two leaders are determined to try to see this through to a successful outcome. It would be a late night,” he added.
Both Mr Cowen and Mr Brown are anxious that if there is a deal that Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness “will take ownership of the agreement to demonstrate to the public that powersharing politics is working in Northern Ireland”, added one talks source.
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke by phone with Mr Brown today on developments in the talks. She also spoke to Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. Ms Clinton is due in London for talks this week which gave rise to speculation that she could make an unscheduled visit to the North, if her intervention would assist the negotiating process.