Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is meeting Northern Ireland First Minister the Rev Ian Paisley for talks in Dundalk today.
The meeting is the second plenary session of the North-South Ministerial Council since devolution returned to the North last May.
Dr Paisley is being joined at the talks by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.
The talks come ahead of a meeting between Mr Ahern and British prime minister Gordon Brown in Manchester this weekend. The issue of devolving police and justice powers to Northern Ireland will dominate their meeting.
Speaking this morning as he arrived for the meeting, Mr McGuinness condemned dissident republicans.
"There are still people within our society who believe that violence is the way forward. Well, my message to them is they who believe that are no-hopers.
"They are people who are going nowhere, and they are people who are totally and absolutely detached from the reality of life on this island at this time," he said.
PSNI Chief Constable Sir High Orde warned yesterday that the Real IRA and Continuity IRA pose an imminent threat.
"They have the intent to cause as much damage as they can to the peace process in Northern Ireland," he said.