Sinn Féin claimed last night that Northern Ireland political parties have a fortnight to produce an agreement to facilitate an autumn assembly election. Mark Hennessy and Dan Keenan report.
Mr Martin McGuinness, the party's chief negotiator, was speaking following the fourth meeting in recent days between Mr Gerry Adams and Mr David Trimble. He said there had been a "real engagement" by the two.
"I said a week ago there was a narrow window of opportunity. This week it is much narrower," Mr McGuinness said. However, he repeated that elections could take place if goodwill on all sides was found.
Speaking to his party activists in Upper Bann Mr David Trimble said he awaited a definitive answer from republicans on "the future status of their armed wing. The situation requires not a mere gesture towards decommissioning, but decisive action in a context where we can seen an end point," he said.
More talks between the two parties are planned.
Earlier the SDLP met Mr Tony Blair's chief-of-staff, Mr Jonathan Powell, for talks at Downing Street.
Mr Mark Durkan, the party leader, and Mr Alex Attwood, chairman, held talks described by a party spokesman as long, intensive and productive.
Meanwhile, in Dublin, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin clashed yesterday following the publication of a Sinn Féin economic document that warned against "the Thatcherisation of Ireland".
Accusing the Government of "an underlying shift to the right", Sinn Féin said it would do "lasting damage to Irish society and the Irish economy if allowed to continue".
The Sinn Féin document, No Right Turn, declares: "Right-wing parties believe in survival of the fittest, which means they favour individualism and private enterprise.
"The policies of the right-wing Thatcher government are a classic example of the logic of this agenda: lower taxes (at all costs) and the withdrawal of public services."
Irish society has become more sharply divided over the last six years, according to the document, although the publications omits any reference to the tax levels Sinn Féin believes are necessary to redress the balance.
Responding on behalf of Fianna Fáil, the Dublin North West TD, Mr Pat Carey, said Sinn Féin was proving that it is "completely out of touch with reality. Sinn Féin is an old-fashioned party with the economic policies of now-defunct communist regimes . . . There is nothing left-wing about condemning Irish workers to the dole."