THE Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, called for an end to "the filibustering over procedures" in the Northern talks.

There must be a clear assurance that Sinn Fein would be admitted to talks as soon as the original ceasefire was reinstated.

"In the light of recent events, the two governments should recognise that an absolute insistence on parallel upfront decommissioning, however desirable, is no longer realistic and that it has to be dealt with as an essential part of an overall settlement."

The signs of a freeing in the logjam over substantive talks was welcome. The leaders of the democratic parties in Northern Ireland beginning meaningful negotiations would be a sign of political leadership.

"We must not see again a nationalist community under siege to an Orange Order group which is determined to force its way upon that community without discussion, consent or consensus," he said "Let Drumcree and the Lower Ormeau Road be the end of that once and for all."

Independent commissions might do good work but unless the Orangemen were prepared to accept the rule of law and acknowledge the need for consent, the same problem would recur.

"If the Orange Order is not prepared to do this, political and community leaders must intervene and exert their influence to demonstrate clearly that public order, community harmony and cross community relations are of a higher order than unfettered tradition."

Mr Des O'Malley, PD spokesman on Northern Ireland, said he was not encouraged by the prospect that new procedural rules put forward by Senator George Mitchell would be accepted next week. Several of the parties seemed to have reservations and would want to leave the way open for more procedural points and procrastination.

Increasingly, there appeared no alternative to the two governments drafting a form of settlement document, offering it for debate and suggesting possible amendments to the parties before putting its final form to the people of Northern Ireland in a referendum.

"The basic conditions will have to include a power sharing administration within Northern Ireland, acceptance of the principle that Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom except by the consent of the majority of its people and the establishment of North South institutional links to guarantee the missing parity of esteem and the rights of nationalists.

If a package like that was a seen as the price of the Union, Mr O'Malley said, there was every possibility that the moderate sober majority of unionists would accept it.

If such a package was a genuine and permanent guarantee to nationalists and included the means to vindicate those rights, surely there was every possibility that a majority of nationalists would accept it.

If the present round of talks ended in failure, or dragged on interminably, a political vacuum would again be formed and deepened which would be filled in only one way. All out violence from extremists on both sides was too terrible to contemplate. The governments had no alternative but to act together and he urged them to do so before they became involved in a general election.

The PDs would support the Government here in taking action and he believed the opposition in Westminster was anxious to support the government there if new initiatives were undertaken jointly with the Irish Government.