Northern Ireland's politicians were today set a March 8th deadline for progress on some of the issues covered in talks to revive devolution.
As a second round of negotiations took place at Stormont, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said parties had to reach agreement by that date if there were to be legislative changes to the way Northern Ireland is governed.
"I want to see agreement reached on March 8," said Mr Hain, who was co-hosting the talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern.
Mr Hain introduced legislation in the House of Commons last Thursday that the Irish and British governments believe could be used as a vehicle for any legislative changes required to the plans for devolved government.
The Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists and the Ulster Unionists have proposed the resumption of the Northern Ireland Assembly, without immediately forming a full-blown devolved government.
The DUP has argued the political climate is not right for power-sharing with Sinn Féin but that there could be a role for the 108 Assembly members.
They have outlined a number of models including Assembly committees scrutinising the work of British direct rule ministers. Nationalist parties have rejected the idea.
At his party's annual conference at the weekend, Sinn Féin chief negotiator Martin McGuinness opposed any proposals that fell short of power sharing as envisaged by the 1998 Belfast Agreement.
Although the DUP had talks with Mr Hain, it did not meet Mr Ahern.
"I think a source of disappointment because we are at a stage where we need all the parties to engage if we want to get to the end game of the restoration of devolution here in Northern Ireland," Mr Ahern said.
As he arrived for talks, SDLP leader Mark Durkan said the only baseline for progress was the Belfast Agreement, and he accused Sinn Féin of agreeing to a shadow Assembly in the comprehensive agreement it almost struck with the DUP in December 2004.
"The comprehensive agreement departs in major ways from the Good Friday Agreement," the Foyle MP insisted.