Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said that if he were the DUP leader he would strike a powersharing agreement on Monday. But regardless of what happened by the deadline for a deal, the political process including its all-Ireland dimension would push ahead.
And ahead of the Northern parties' attempt today to wrest a special "peace dividend" from British chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown, he also warned that without a political deal Mr Brown would not release a "brass farthing".
Mr Adams said yesterday that the media was too fixated on Monday because regardless of what happened, the "trajectory" was to inclusivity, powersharing arrangements and all-Ireland matters.
"The more important question is, will the DUP do a deal? The answer to that is, yes," said Mr Adams. The question remained "how they will do it and when they will do it", he added.
Mr Adams hoped Dr Paisley would lead his party into a powersharing government on Monday. "If I was Ian Paisley, I would do a deal by Monday, but the process of change is going to continue, and it's really a matter of what's the best way to continue it, and the best way to continue it is as the people decided in the last election," he said.
"We are trying to be gentle and tolerant and strategic and patient in a lot of these matters but we are assertive and we are determined that this process will move ahead. I certainty think there is no reason whatsoever why it can't move ahead on Monday and why we can't have Martin McGuinness and other Sinn Féin ministers sharing power on the basis of equality as of right with the DUP and the other political parties," said Mr Adams.
Speaking in Parliament Buildings, Stormont, at the annual appeal for people to wear Easter lilies, Mr Adams said: "If the institutions are not in place on Monday, then everybody in this place should be sacked and the place should be closed down."
On Tuesday evening, in an effort to boost DUP confidence in the bona fides of republicans, Sinn Féin released an interview Mr Adams gave to the current edition of An Phoblacht. In it he said Sinn Féin would participate fully in policing structures.
Mr Adams said yesterday that republicans had addressed all issues of concern to unionists, including support for policing.
Mr Adams, Dr Paisley and the other parties' leaders will lead delegations in talks with Mr Brown today seeking financial aid to boost the prospects of a deal succeeding. Mr Adams said Mr Brown must "divvy up".
"There needs to be an economic dividend to allow the executive to function, properly resourced. There is also the fact that we are coming out of conflict; that there have been a lot of difficulties that need to be addressed in the time ahead. Then there is the fact the British government has not funded essential services," he said.