The Irish and British governments will today start a three-week strategy to attempt to reestablish momentum in the peace progress after the stalemate which has existed since the suspension of the Northern Executive and Assembly last month.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, will travel to Belfast later today for a series of meetings with the pro-agreement parties. Along with the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, the Minister will seek to determine what steps can be taken to overcome the difficulties on decommissioning and re-establishment of the institutions.
Mr Jim Steinberg, an adviser to President Bill Clinton, will also attend the meetings.
Meanwhile last night, the Government moved to remove any uncertainty over reports of a shift in strategy on the North, with demands for decommissioning being replaced by a commitment from paramilitary bodies that they would disband as part of a lasting settlement.
A Government spokesman said: "There is no change in policy". The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, told Today FM that there was "no confusion" on the part of the Government. "What we want to do is to have the institutions restored but also, of course, there has to be decommissioning. We have never been in any doubt about that," she said.
However, she emphasised the importance of the IRA providing a commitment to disband as part of any agreement.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, who had called on the Government to clarify its policy, said it was "essential that it is clear that we are working on the basis of the Good Friday agreement which contains a clear commitment to decommissioning".
On RTE's Morning Ireland programme, Mr Bruton asked: "If we have the disbandment of the IRA without the removal of weapons, what will we end up with?" He said it would be impossible to determine whether a secret organisation such as the IRA had actually disbanded.
As part of the general round of consultations, the Conservative Party spokesman on Northern Ireland, Mr Andrew McKay, and representatives of the Alliance Party held separate meetings yesterday with Mr Cowen and the leaders of Fine Gael and the Labour Party.
The Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said the meetings had confirmed the clear sense of frustration at the moment among the parties supporting the Belfast Agreement.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, will review the situation when they meet at the EU summit in Lisbon later this month.