The British government is now anticipating the possibility of a prolonged political stalemate in Northern Ireland, whether or not it proceeds with Assembly elections later this month.
Without an explicit IRA statement declaring an end to all paramilitary activities, ministers and officials think it increasingly unlikely that devolved government can be restored by the end of the year.
This gloomy assessment emerged last night as the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, and the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, moved towards the point of decision on whether the Assembly poll scheduled for May 29th should go ahead.
As Anglo-Irish consultations continued into the night, the prime minister's official spokesman refused all speculation about the likelihood of a further postponement of the Assembly contest, saying only: "The election date is in the diary."
However there was intense discussion about the way ahead within Whitehall, and between London and Dublin, following Mr Gerry Adams's failure to answer the critical question about future IRA activities in the terms demanded by both governments.
With Mr Blair and his ministers apparently genuinely undecided about the May 29th poll, Downing Street acknowledged that "time is short" because of an election timetable which sees nominations open tomorrow.
At the same time the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, signalled his belief that the question remained open, when he asserted it would not be possible in existing circumstances for the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive to be lifted.
If London did lift the suspension then a newly-elected Assembly would be required to meet within eight days of an election, and would have six weeks thereafter to elect first and deputy first ministers and appoint an Executive. If the Assembly failed to do so within that six-week timetable a fresh Assembly election would follow.
Mr Trimble's clear expectation that this was not about to happen followed a one-hour meeting with Mr Blair in 10 Downing Street, after which the Ulster Unionist leader declared himself satisfied that he and the prime minister were pursuing "the same objective".
Mr Trimble said Downing Street's reaction to Mr Adams's latest clarification of the IRA's thinking and intentions meant it was not considered an effective answer to the questions posed by Mr Blair.
And he suggested that the series of statements made by the Sinn Féin president should be considered "so much froth" against the underlying "bedrock" of a "most unsatisfactory" statement to the two governments by the IRA itself.
In response to Mr Adams's statement yesterday the prime minister's official spokesman again asked: "Does this mean that punishment beatings, exiling, arms procurement and development, intelligence-gathering and targeting are at an end?"
Mr Blair would continue to ask those questions, the spokesman said, because "we need to be absolutely definite that the transition (to democracy) has to be over". The spokesman also stressed that these were the questions of the British government and not of the Ulster Unionist Party.
Whitehall sources last night continued to insist that assurances that future IRA actions would be consistent with the declared republican commitment to the peace process and the implementation of the Belfast Agreement were unacceptable in the light of previously sanctioned IRA activities - either denied, or described as being outside the terms of the IRA cessation - which had undermined confidence in the process and brought about the suspension of the institutions of government.
Mr Trimble insisted: "It would be easy for Mr Adams, when asked 'is there going to be an end to paramilitary activity?' to say 'yes'. The fact that, at the second or third time of asking, he has been unable to give a clear answer is fairly illustrative."