The most impressive thing about the progress report on Irish/British co-operation published yesterday by Mr Ahern and Mr Blair is its length.
For while it reveals no single earth-shattering development since the two men decided last July to develop further the co-operation between the two states, it details an extraordinary number of small developments that are under way.
These developments are in almost every area of public policy, ranging from education to transport, crime, drugs, immigration, homelessness, defence, tourism, agriculture, health, trade, finance and arts and culture.
As they published the document on the margins of the European Council meeting in Luxembourg, Government sources drew attention to the emphasis the Ulster Unionists have been putting recently on the development of the "east-west" relationship between Ireland and Britain. While this document is not a response to that emphasis, they said, it could provide some reassurance to unionists that that relationship is being developed.
In December 1995 the two governments agreed to strengthen east-west co-operation between government departments and to facilitate other non-governmental contacts. Last July, they said they were committed to further strengthening this co-operation.
The document published yesterday details progress made since then.
Much of the report details links between the two countries that would exist anyway, whether or not a decision had been made to try to develop the east-west relationship. The report, for example, gives trade figures to show the interdependency of Britain and Ireland.
Two-way trade amounted to more than £15 billion last year. Ireland is the UK's fifth largest export market, while the UK is easily Ireland's largest, accounting for a quarter of all exports, the report says.
Negotiations are under way on a bilateral agreement between Ireland and the UK on mutual assistance in money laundering, the finding and seizure of criminal assets and drug trafficking.
Discussions are also under way on co-operation on immigration and asylum matters.
A tripartite seminar on moving people from welfare to work, involving the relevant government departments in Britain, the Republic and Northern Ireland took place in London last month.
In the area of transport, the report lists among the principal developments the ongoing upgrading of the Cork-Dublin-Belfast-Larne rail link; the improvement of facilities at Dun Laoghaire ferryport; increased ferry capacity across the Irish Sea; and links between the people of Dun Laoghaire and Holyhead.
In education, 28 teachers of Irish in British and Northern schools have attended training courses in Donegal over the past three years. There have been exchanges of school heads, school partnerships have been formed and officials are discussing co-operation between schools on information technology.
A scheme has been established by Forbairt and the British Council to facilitate Irish and British scientists developing joint projects. A similar scheme funded 18 collaborative health research projects in 1997.
A scheme of co-operation on firefighting at sea is being developed, and joint exercises between the Irish and Welsh fire and marine rescue services are expected. Joint search and rescue and pollution response exercises have already taken place.
The British are investigating past munitions dumping in Beaufort's Dyke in the Irish Sea arising from Irish representations concerning reports of the dumping of radioactive material there.
The respective departments of social welfare have continued to develop links. In 1996 they reviewed 1,500 potentially fraudulent social security cases and made significant savings as a result, the report says. Information on claims is exchanged electronically between the two countries.
Officials from both governments have also discussed the prospect of establishing a heart/lung transplant unit in Ireland, with British help. They have talked about co-operation in food safety and EU company law directives. They are examining a possible new programme to assist Irish people homeless in Britain. TnaG has established contacts with a number of British regional broadcasters.