Northern Ireland's politicians were given a stark warning today — make a deal to restore devolution or go into the political wilderness for at least three years.
The British and Irish Governments have set November 24th as the deadline for the restoration of a power-sharing Executive at Stormont.
Ulster Secretary Peter Hain warned the parties that if they fail to meet the deadline the two governments are unlikely to make another attempt to restore devolution until at least 2009.
In a speech to the British Irish Association conference in Oxford, Mr Hain challenged politicians to work together to seize the opportunity to transform Northern Ireland by November 24th or face being united in failure and witnessing the dissolution of the Assembly.
Local politicians, especially the DUP, continue to dismiss the deadline as an arbitrary date plucked from the government calendar which can be pushed back if agreement is not reached by then.
But Mr Hain insisted: "November 24 is the defining moment for Northern Ireland. If power sharing is not restored this autumn there are very strong reasons for believing the two governments are unlikely to be in a position to make another attempt to bring the parties together until after the next Irish and then British General Elections."
Northern Ireland would slip further behind in the global economic race and community relations would stagnate or deteriorate as each side blamed the other for the lost opportunity, he said.
Mr Hain added: "The dissolution of the Assembly would see a political class melt away in failure. Worse, another generation of young people would equate economic dynamism and opportunity with life outside Northern Ireland."
Reinforcing the November deadline was not up for negotiation, the Secretary of State said. If the politicians missed the opportunity and failed to discharge their responsibilities, the world would move on without them.
Unionists, he said, had a valid, honourable and valued place in the United Kingdom.
"Unionists have every right to be confident — in their culture, in their policies, in their politics. Because the ballot box is the ultimate guarantor of security: in a power sharing government based on equality everyone is stronger by definition, because everyone is respected and given weight."
The Union of 2006 was different from the Union of 1926 or of 1966, he said. Being part of the Union now meant being part of a forward looking, dynamic economy and a society that had long ceased to be monocultural, he said.
"The Union itself is evolving — it is not fossilised — and Northern Ireland cannot proceed as if it was hermetically sealed from that development," he said.
"If unionists seize the initiative in November and form a locally accountable power sharing Executive with a fully functioning Assembly, the prize will be the opportunity to transform the economic and social prospects for the next generation.
"Progress in Northern Ireland built on equality and partnership will provide the deep and lasting security which both communities crave."
As the pressure for a breakthrough is stepped up, Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern are expected to meet this week to develop a plan of action for a final drive to the finishing line.
The two governments are due to take the local parties away from the divisive atmosphere of Northern Ireland next month for several days of hot-house talks in Scotland.