Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will hold crucial talks on Northern Ireland with DUP leader Ian Paisley in Dublin on Friday, it emerged tonight.
It will be the first time a Democratic Unionist Party delegation has held formal discussions with Mr Ahern since the IRA announced an end to its 36-year armed campaign in late July and completed decommissioning of its arms in September.
A Government spokesperson said of Friday's talks: "The meeting with the DUP is the latest in a round of discussions between Mr Ahern and Northern Ireland political parties.
"The agenda will centre around the need to find consensus on Mr Ahern's objective to commence Northern Ireland power-sharing talks in the Spring."
In October 2004, Mr Paisley visited Government Buildings for the first-ever political meeting with the Taoiseach.
Two months later, a power-sharing deal with Sinn Fein collapsed because the DUP insisted on visual evidence of decommissioning.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern and the North's Secretary of State Peter Hain and yesterday held talks in Stormont with Sinn Fein and the Progressive Unionist Party.
