The Government says it is "taking nothing for granted" about today's planned publication of the Irish and British blueprint for restoring devolution in Northern Ireland, after another day of contacts with the North's political parties on unresolved issues.
With the Taoiseach due to arrive in Hillsborough shortly after 2 p.m. today, the Government hopes the final round of talks with the British Prime Minister and the Northern leaders will finish by late afternoon.
However, a spokeswoman last night emphasised the Taoiseach's statement on Tuesday that there was still a short list of issues that had to be resolved before the document could be published.
"We are hoping for movement but nobody is taking anything for granted. There is still a lot of contact behind the scenes to work out these issues," she said.
As of last night the plan was for the Taoiseach to hold an initial meeting with Mr Blair, followed by a round-table meeting with the parties.
This could change, depending on how discussions on the outstanding issues progressed.
Final contacts are taking place on the issue of sanctions against parties deemed to be failing to meet their obligations under the Belfast Agreement, policing, the scale of the reduction of the military presence, and new legislation to grant an amnesty to IRA members still "on the run".
While publication of the blueprint document this evening is widely expected, sources said the two governments would not proceed if they felt it would not receive approval from the parties.
Plastic bullets will not be available for use by the PSNI on the streets of Northern Ireland by the end of the year, the British government confirmed last night.
Ms Jane Kennedy, the Security Minister, said that subject to research for less lethal alternatives and to the level of public disorder, "the baton round would no longer be used after the end of 2003".
Up to 17 lives have been lost through use of plastic and rubber bullets during the Troubles.
She was speaking after the release of a Human Rights Commission report which concluded that new plastic bullets represented a greater threat to life than previous models.
"The new baton round is potentially a more lethal weapon than that which it replaced."
The Northern Ireland Office hopes that street violence on the levels witnessed last year will not be repeated this summer, that advances in community policing will help build public order and that trials of alternatives will prove successful.
Ms Kennedy said: "Our objective is that not a single baton round would need to be fired in public disorder by the police or the army acting in support. In the great majority of police districts, where there has been no sustained major public disorder, no rounds have been fired for five years or more."
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, welcomed the announcement. He said he looked to the day when plastic bullets would no longer be used.
Nationalists also welcomed the statement. Mr Gerry Kelly said: "We have made clear that the ending of the use of plastic bullets is a key issue for Sinn Féin and the nationalist community. The statement today from the British government represents forward movement."
Ms Patricia Lewsley of the SDLP said since the party went on the Policing Board, plastic bullets had not been fired in one of the three policing regions.