PRESIDENT McALEESE, who met Queen Elizabeth in Belfast yesterday, has implicitly acknowledged that a visit to the Republic by the British monarch won't happen this year, although such a visit is "significantly closer".
Citing Dáil comments by the Taoiseach this month, President McAleese said a visit to Dublin by Queen Elizabeth hinged on the transfer of policing and justice powers to the Northern Executive.
On March 4th Mr Ahern, effectively outlining Government policy, said a visit would not happen this year but would be possible when the policing and justice issue was concluded.
"We now know - the Taoiseach has spoken about this quite openly - what requires to be done to complete the set of elements that would make such a visit possible," President McAleese said in an interview with The Irish Times, RTÉ and the Press Association.
"We know that it is dependent on the completion of devolution which, hopefully, will not be too far off. That means the return of policing and criminal justice responsibility to the Executive in Northern Ireland," she said at Queen's University, Belfast, after meeting Queen Elizabeth.
The 2006 St Andrews Agreement envisaged this transfer taking place by May. The DUP, however, has insisted in the most trenchant of terms that this target will not be achieved, causing some tensions between it and Sinn Féin.
President McAleese said the transfer of policing powers to the Executive was seen as "rounding off" the peace process. "When that is done, when devolution is completed, I think that then anything is possible," she added.
"I am long on the record as saying I would wish that the visit would happen. We know that her majesty wishes to come and we know that we wish her to come. Please goodness it will happen. As to the when of it, I don't know. That is a matter for the two governments," said the President.
"I think the day is significantly closer," she added. "I would be hopeful that it would happen sooner rather than later."
Before attending a special ceremony at Queen's University marking the centenary of the college receiving the British royal charter, President McAleese and Queen Elizabeth had a 10-minute private meeting in the lodge of the vice-chancellor.
"We had a very good discussion, very positive, both of us talking about how miraculous these times are in Northern Ireland," said President McAleese. She described relations between Britain and Ireland as the best "in centuries".
"These are the days that we hoped for, prayed for, but were never too sure when they would come, and now we are really enjoying them," said the President. "There was a touch of the surreal about [yesterday's meeting with Queen Elizabeth] precisely because so much of our lives have been invested in looking forward to a time of peace, of concord and partnership. We were never too sure how that might look or feel," she added.
"So now we know the look of it. We have a First Minister in Rev Dr Ian Paisley. We have a Deputy First Minister in Martin McGuinness. These are the people who, I suppose, represent the most polarised elements of Northern Irish society; yet for the past year they have worked together in a spirit of huge concord, respect and partnership ... What an important witness that has been for this year of transition to get that kind of leadership from the top," she said.
Asked could she envisage a day when Sinn Féin might feel comfortable at an event attended by the British monarch, the President said that was for Sinn Féin. "To aspire to a normalisation of relationships is a really good thing, and I think many of the things that have happened, particularly over the last year, have given us encouragement to believe that all sorts of miracles are possible," she said.
President McAleese said she had also spoken to Dr Paisley at the university event yesterday.