New negotiating structures will be put in place today in an attempt to secure the implementation of key aspects of the Belfast Agreement at an early date.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, will lead a Government team to Belfast to give impetus to the establishment of North-South bodies and an all-Ireland ministerial council and to ensure that a political vacuum does not develop because of disagreements over arms decommissioning and the formation of a shadow executive.
Failure to reach agreement on these matters by the October 31st deadline has generated concern within the governments and the political parties that the entire process could be derailed.
Mr Ahern's visit to Belfast is not expected to yield an instant breakthrough in these difficult negotiations; rather it is seen as part of a new negotiating process which will involve the Government and the political parties, along with Northern Ireland's First Minister and Deputy First Minister, Mr David Trimble and Mr Seamus Mallon.
Today's round-table discussions are expected to narrow the gap between the various parties in relation to North-South administrative and political structures. Officials will then be asked to take the process further in consultation with the parties and to produce draft proposals. At that stage Mr Ahern is expected to return to Belfast to complete the negotiations.
Success would clear the way for the passage of empowering legislation in the Dail and at Westminster. It would then fall to a new North-South ministerial council to agree what policies would be pursued next spring.
Last night Mr Ahern said it was "critically important that we don't allow those who are only interested in violence to seize the initiative in Northern Ireland once again. The parties who are committed to democratic politics have a duty to uphold the will of the people and make every effort to implement the Good Friday agreement in full."
On the basis of conversations he had had over the weekend, he believed significant progress towards agreement on North-South bodies was achievable in Belfast. The Government is anxious that the Northern parties should be fully occupied in dealing with substantive political issues and that a hiatus or vacuum should not occur.
Sinn Fein, in particular, is angry about the missed deadline and Mr Trimble's refusal to appoint a shadow executive because of his party's concerns over decommissioning. It is understood the UUP was reluctant to agree to the new negotiating procedure because Mr Trimble might be seen to have "won".
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, said he told the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, at the weekend that he had a responsibility to ensure the agreement was implemented as urgently as possible. While regarding decommissioning as "an indispensable part of the agreement", Sinn Fein could do no more at this stage in encouraging the IRA to decommission weapons.