Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British prime minister Tony Blair will return to Northern Ireland in the summer to engage in "intensive talks" with the Northern parties when, as expected, the first attempt in June to restore the Executive fails.
Mr Ahern and Mr Blair, outside Armagh city, yesterday set November 24th as the deadline for restoring devolution, warning that if this proposal failed they would collapse the Assembly, cancel members' salaries and strengthen North-South co-operation.
They have recalled the Assembly for May 15th, but prior to the November deadline gave the politicians six weeks from May to late June to elect Dr Ian Paisley as first minister, Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister and 10 ministers to the Executive.
The Taoiseach and prime minister acknowledged that this was virtually certain to fail. The plan thereafter is to go into summer recess and in the autumn allow a further 12-week period up until November 24th to reinstate a fully functioning Assembly and Executive.
A British government spokesman disclosed last night that when the first attempt to form an Executive in June is unsuccessful, Mr Ahern and Mr Blair will return to Northern Ireland in a renewed attempt to persuade the parties that forming an Executive by November is the best option for the parties and Northern Ireland.
Mr Ahern and Mr Blair however at Navan Fort (Emhain Macha) yesterday made it clear that failure in November would mean an enhanced Dublin role in the affairs of Northern Ireland. If the proposals are rejected, the two leaders in a joint statement said: "We are beginning detailed work on British-Irish partnership arrangements that will be necessary in these circumstances to ensure that the Good Friday Agreement, which is the indispensable framework for relations on and between these islands, is actively developed across its structures and functions."
The murder of Denis Donaldson cast a shadow over yesterday's initiative. The two leaders, however, repeated their conviction that the leadership of Sinn Féin and the IRA were committed to seeing politics work in Northern Ireland.
DUP leader Dr Paisley said his party would enter the limited Assembly, adding that responsibility for restoring devolution lay with "Sinn Féin/IRA by ending terrorism and criminality".
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said the party's leadership would meet in the coming days to decide its response to the proposals.
The White House last night welcomed the initiative and said there "is an opportunity for all in Northern Ireland to take control of their future and bring the political process to a successful completion this year".