The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, has said the Irish Government is in favour of the naming of a date for elections to the suspended Northern Assembly.
The Minister made his comments after he met today with Mark Durkan, the leader of the SDLP.
Mr Cowen said: "That's precisely my view since the day they were suspended."
His comments come as pressure grows on the British government to name a date. Mark Durkan met with Sinn Féin president GerryAdams earlier. Mr Adams also argued that the setting of an election date would improve the prospects of ending the political deadlock at Stormont.
Following today's talks with Mr Cowen in Dublin, Mr Durkan said that the setting of an election date would provide the best image for political efforts to restore the Assembly and power sharing executive at Stormont, which was suspended last October amid allegations of IRA intelligence gathering.
Earlier today, following his meeting at Stormont with Gerry Adams, Mr Durkan said: "I think particularly if people knew that they have got an absolutely reliable election date - firm, fixed and actually holding- I believe that fact would create incentive and imperative on its own.
Assembly elections scheduled for May this year were cancelled by the British PrimeMinister Tony Blair four days into the campaign because he feared they would not produce a stable devolved government.
Mr Blair's decision to cancel the elections was criticised by the Irish government.
Mr Adams today insisted it would be a mistake if anelection date was not set for the autumn.
The West Belfast MP said: "The worst case scenario would be no election."As a democrat I am sure that we will agree that there should be nopre-conditions on the peoples' right to vote."