The beginning of weeks of intensive negotiations to overcome the logjam in the North's political process was announced yesterday by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair.
Speaking after meeting the pro-agreement parties and Gen John De Chastelain of the decommissioning body during talks at Hillsborough Castle yesterday, they announced discussions would continue next week, when the North's First Minister, Mr Trimble, will have resigned, as expected, from his post in protest at the absence of IRA arms decommissioning.
According to Mr Blair, "fullscale intensive negotiations" will take place next week, chaired by the Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, with the Prime Minister and Mr Ahern becoming directly involved "as soon a possible".
Mr Blair said the outstanding problems in the process had not altered and needed to be worked through to resolution. "They have to be dealt with, there is no other solution but sitting down and working out the practical problems that remain in order that they are dealt with, so that every single aspect of the Good Friday agreement is implemented."
Mr Ahern said the two governments were ready for the necessary work.
He said that to resolve the issues progress was needed on all fronts "and I think we can [achieve that]".
Mr Ahern said his recent comments on the need for a move on IRA decommissioning were already on the record and "we need to deal with that issue and other issues".
In a direct message to the IRA, Mr Blair said: "My message is very simple: it is absolutely essential, if we are to have a stable process in Northern Ireland, that weapons are put beyond use, that there is a commitment to exclusively peaceful and democratic means."
He said he understood a police force acceptable to nationalists, the stability of the institutions and the "two governments carrying out their commitments" under the Belfast Agreement were also necessary. Suspension of the institutions was not being contemplated at this stage, Mr Blair added.
"And we have to make sure - because otherwise it is unfair to the other democratic parties in Northern Ireland - . . . that every party in government in Northern Ireland is committed to exclusively peaceful and democratic means and that weapons are being put beyond use in respect of all the paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland. That is the only stable basis for the future here."
The recent election results in the North showed people supported the institutions but wanted to see the Belfast Agreement implemented in full, he said. "I think the people here in Northern Ireland - their doubts are about whether the terms of the overall agreement have been properly implemented. Not as to whether the agreement itself, if it were implemented, is anything other than the best way forward."
Mr Blair said he remained optimistic about the possibility of agreement being reached because all the parties were dedicated to making the accord work. "The commitment of the main political parties had never been stronger."
"What we need to do with this process is . . . to go back and work out all the things that are necessary and outstanding in order to get this agreement back on track in a really solid way that frankly doesn't involve us having to come back and nurture it and help it along the way every so often."
Mr Ahern concluded by stressing no deadline had been set: "We've learnt well that setting deadlines is not a good idea but over the next few weeks we have to try and make as much progress as we can."
He said the logjam could not go on "endlessly . . . now it's really time to see if we can come to a conclusion on them and move on positively with the institutions and everything else. It's not going to be easy but that's what we have to try to do."