THE proposal for a multilateral "proximity" meeting was ridiculed by unionist spokesmen, welcomed by nationalist parties and given a distinctly cool response by the British government.
The Northern Minister for Political Development, Mr Michael Ancram, suggested that the idea was untimely. He said: "In our view, in the light of the other very intensive discussions we're having with all the parties at the moment, this proposal is at best premature.
He said any attempt to bring parties together must at the end of the day depend on those parties being willing to come together. He referred back to the Joint Communique, "which suggests that the next substantive movement in this process will be a meeting of the two heads of government later this month".
Mr Willie Ross MP, of the Ulster Unionist Party, said this was "another effort by Dublin to prevent democracy taking root in Northern Ireland at all costs".
His UUP colleague, Mr Ken Maginnis, described the proposal as a "distraction". Mr Maginnis, in a statement, said: "Northern Ireland is not a Bosnia insofar as the democratic structures within the Province have remained intact despite 25 years of terrorism and of unhelpful aggravation from Dublin. Neither is it an emerging nation such as Palestine or South Africa where the greater number of voters were denied access to the democratic process."
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, said no right thinking or self respecting unionist would g to a Dayton type conference, as it had to do with territory and sovereignty.
"He (Mr Spring) is upping the negotiating power of Articles 2 and 3 and wants, really, a conference to deal with the territory of the whole of this island. I said about Dick Spring, before Mr Taylor passed any comment on him, that his name stank in Northern Ireland. It certainly stinks more today than ever before," he said.
The DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, described the proposal as "crazy". "Mr Spring is being mischievous and knows full well that his proposal does not address the principal obstacle to all party dialogue - the existence of a fully armed and ever ready terrorist organisation.
The SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, said it was a "sensible" proposal that all parties would meet in the same building for a two day period and talk privately to one another.
He added: "In fact, given that the NIO has already provided offices for all the parties in the same building, they could all be in the same building on the same day. It is very sensible. I think dialogue is central to this whole thing."
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, also welcomed the idea. He said it was "a positive contribution to efforts to create the right conditions for all party talks and a negotiated settlement." Mr Adams added: "The unionists and the British government will have to learn that they have to stop saying No".
Councillor Seamus Close, deputy leader of the Alliance Party, expressed reservations about the proposal. He said: "However well meaning the motives of those making proposals, I am concerned that a variety of schemes for different sorts of talks are just adding to the confusion. There is a serious danger that discussing all these possibilities is merely delaying the chance of getting real, inclusive dialogue started."
The Workers' Party said that all proposals which might lead to political parties engaging in talks must he explored and not dismissed out of hand.
An IRSP spokesman said the idea might offer a forum where protagonists could lay out their positions and discover areas of mutual understanding.