Sinn Féin remains opposed to emerging plans from London and Dublin for the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly with initially limited powers coupled with an absolute deadline for the appointment of a powersharing executive.
Confirmation of the party's position came yesterday in the wake of confusion caused by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's apparent endorsement last weekend of the essential Downing Street plan first reported in The Irish Times five weeks ago.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan has also warned London and Dublin against any proposal which would see British "direct rule" ministers answering to the Assembly in the absence of an inclusive powersharing executive.
In a statement yesterday Mr Durkan welcomed the apparent rejection of the proposed recall of the Assembly in "shadow" form.
However, he urged the governments "not to go only halfway towards real restoration" of the institutions established under the Belfast Agreement.
"From what the governments have said so far, it appears that they want the direct rulers to act as ministers in the devolved assembly," said Mr Durkan.
"That is not good enough. For the SDLP there is no acceptable level of direct rule. Direct rule, by the front door or the back door, must end for good."
Mr Durkan's comments came as Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams confirmed he had yet to see the detail of the proposal which Mr Ahern and British prime minister Tony Blair are now expected to reveal during a visit to Northern Ireland before Easter.
Confirming that Sinn Féin remains in daily contact with both governments, Mr Adams said he imagined the proposed blueprint was still "a work in progress".
However, Mr Adams told The Irish Times that "nothing has changed" in respect of Sinn Féin's opposition to any plan to allow the Assembly to function in any form - whether called "shadow" or "transitional" - without the inclusive executive prescribed by the Belfast Agreement.
Mr Adams also observed that new British legislation would be required to permit the Assembly to function in a reduced role, and asked: "For what? So that the Orange marching season can proceed?"
Mr Adams repeated his view that the Assembly should be summoned in advance of the marching season and given the six weeks defined in statute to form an executive.
Failure after that time should see the Assembly closed down, said Mr Adams: "That's it."
Asserting that there was "no point in the governments withdrawing proposals a month ago and restyling it now", Mr Adams again warned London and Dublin against "pandering" to the Democratic Unionist Party.
"They want to play this long and they should not be assisted to do so." Mr Adams also seemed to reject the notion implicit in the emerging plan that a deadline for a decision to appoint an executive would force the DUP's hand. He said the DUP was no more likely to be pressurised than Sinn Féin.
And he maintained his alternative agenda - for "intergovernmentalism" and the implementation of all other aspects of the Belfast Agreement for which the two governments have responsibility - was not designed to put pressure on the DUP.