Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has warned that it will be difficult to reach a political accommodation in the North if there is no deal struck this year, writes Gerry Moriarty Northern Editor
He reiterated that there is no "Plan B" alternative to the Belfast Agreement.
Mr Ahern said the British and Irish governments were "adamant" that 2006 was the year that the DUP and Sinn Féin and the other parties must decide whether they can reactivate the power-sharing Northern Executive and Assembly.
"There is no Plan B. We don't countenance failure in this because we were very close to it back in December 2004," Mr Ahern said yesterday.
Prolonging negotiations into 2007 would create separate problem for Dublin and London.
"We see 2006 as the window of opportunity because of the fact that once you turn into 2007 you will be in election mode in the Republic in the first half of the year and also the political instability in the UK," he told RTÉ.
"Everyone would agree that 2007 may very well be a difficult year in the UK. So both governments are absolutely adamant that 2006 is the time when the politicians of Northern Ireland have to decide for themselves whether they want to work in partnership in a devolved government," added Mr Ahern.
The Minister said the Assembly and Executive should be reactivated to deal with the local issues that affect every person in Northern Ireland. He also urged an all-island economic strategy. "It makes no economic sense that a small island of 5.5 million people be treated as two separate entities in a globalised economy, because competitiveness is the key issue," he said.
Mr Ahern said he opposed holding an inquiry into the current spying controversies because they would be counter-productive. "People were calling for inquiries. The inquiries would only give people an excuse not to move. They'd wait until the inquiry was over. Of course with all these murky goings-on, whether it is in Stormont or otherwise, spying by one side or another, you never really get to the truth in relation to it," he said.
Mr Ahern said that PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde had told the Government during a security briefing in Dublin last month that Sinn Féin had been operating a spy ring at Stormont in 2002, despite the prosecution charges being dropped.
"But we don't only accept his word. We also have to look at the investigation by Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan and we also have to look at what was going on here in the Republic in the famous case where Sinn Féin members are now in jail as a result of monitoring elected TDs," he added.
Sinn Féin MP Pat Doherty also said yesterday that the opportunity to restore devolution this year must be grasped, and that 2006 "must be the year that the DUP finally display the confident brand of unionism they promised two years ago".
DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said that his party would not engage with Sinn Féin until the IRA was fully off the stage.