Reaction:The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said this morning it was necessary to "wait and see" what happened today, adding that he hoped trust and confidence could be re-established in the North.
He said further developments would ensure there was the most positive atmosphere possible for elections.
He told RTÉ radio: "What we have seen now is a decision by the British Government to call these elections.
"That decision, I believe, can trigger a series of words and actions that can be great solace and comfort to people, the fact we are in a situation where those elections can be held in the most positive atmosphere possible."
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Asked whether he was confident the elections would definitely go ahead, Mr Cowen said: "Both governments over the last number of weeks - particularly since the breakdown of the talks last May - have been trying to ensure that collectively all the pro-Agreement parties can recognise the importance of us dealing with those situations which weren't dealt with last May."
He said the potential of the Agreement could be unleashed when trust and confidence was established.
He added: "I believe that the problems we have been undergoing over the past 12 months have been corrosive of that trust and I hope that during the course of the day we will see developments that will ensure and enhance that trust and confidence can be re-established."
SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan said a more inclusive approach should have adopted.
"The reality is this is not the first time since the Agreement that the two governments have taken the approach of concentrating on the problem politics as it were. In fact it has marked the approach since the Agreement.
"Our approach and our frustration over recent times has been that governments should be talking to all parties about all of the Agreement so that whenever all the pro-Agreement parties are in front of the public we can together say with confidence that things are positive and things are going forward and that the Agreement's future is assured.
"I don't see how any of the positive things that will be there today would have been prevented by having a more inclusive approach.
"We also have to remember that there are going to be parts of the Agreement that will not have been taken care of in today's announcement."
Asked whether he believed his party would lose votes he replied: "I don't believe the SDLP is going to lose votes."Sinn Féin's senior negotiator, Mr Alex Maskey, said he hoped today would mark a new chapter for the process.
"Republicans have consistently demonstrated their support for the process," he said. "I think as the day unfolds, hopefully we will see everybody committing themselves to the process moving forward."
But Unionists warned that peace was not yet assured. Ulster Unionist MLA Mr Michael McGimpsey said it would be a long day and he would "wait and see".
"Obviously we all hope we are getting towards the end of a process, that we are finally seeing the end of terrorism," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He said he was looking for "more than simply words".
"We require actions. We are looking for assurances the IRA is becoming part of history and finally going out of business and going away for good."
He said republicans had to convince unionists they also wanted peace. But he acknowledged it was a "highly significant" development.
The UUP's former deputy leader, Lord Kilclooney (Mr John Taylor) also voiced his hope for the future.
But he said the decommissioning of weapons was not enough as paramilitaries could re-arm from abroad. He said the IRA and Sinn Féin must confirm that the threat of terrorism had disappeared.
He said great progress had been made over the past five years but the IRA now had to confirm "the bombing and killing" was over. "We must have some guarantee today that it is not going to return in the future," he said.
But he said today was potentially "a major step forward to long-lasting peace throughout the province".