Andrews urges parties to re-create `mood of Good Friday'

The Minister for Foreign Affairs will meet the North's Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, and Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, today in Belfast, following his appeal yesterday for "one last enormous effort" to find agreement by June 30th.

Mr Andrews made the plea after meeting the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, in Dublin. He said the two governments were under no illusion about the scale of the problem, but were also determined "that by Wednesday of next week we will have completed the task of transferring powers to the new institutions". He added: "Let us re-create the mood of Good Friday, when the seemingly impossible became possible".

Dr Mowlam said the hour-long meeting had not included discussion of a "plan B", because the governments were not speculating on what might happen after June 30th. But they were determined to make progress, and believed it could be achieved "if everybody takes that extra step, and that means the governments too".

She added: "Nobody should be in any doubt how serious we are about the deadline. That both prime ministers cancelled going to the summit in Rio I think is the best indication that this is very serious indeed".

The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, will also travel North later today and will meet the Progressive Unionists, the Alliance Party and the Women's Coalition. She hopes to meet the Ulster Unionists and the Unionist Democratic Party tomorrow.

The Taoiseach has no immediate plans to go to Belfast. A spokesman said he was prepared to travel if and when his presence would be helpful.

Clare Murphy adds: The pro-agreement parties are engaging in a series of meetings with Dr Mowlam and the North's Development Minister, Mr Paul Murphy, in advance of intensive negotiations later this week.

The Alliance Party and the SDLP delegations met Mr Murphy separately yesterday. Dr Mowlam later met the Ulster Unionist Party, Sinn Fein, the Ulster Democratic Party and the Women's Coalition. A similar series of meetings is scheduled for today.