The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, said last night it was now over to the Irish and British governments to present a package which would break the political stalemate in the Northern peace process.
Before going into a three-hour meeting with the Taoiseach, Mr Adams criticised the stance taken by the two Ulster Unionist Party MPs who called on Mr David Trimble to withdraw from the peace process. "It confirms for many people that Jeffrey Donaldson and David Burnside were not ever really for the Good Friday agreement," he said.
He added: "Indeed, Jeffrey has made a bit of a career of walking out of negotiations. I think if they were serious . . . about genuinely building a peace process, they should stick to the process, argue their corner and work with the rest of us to make this work."
Mr Adams went into his discussions with Mr Ahern, accompanied by senior party colleague and Northern Education Minister Mr Martin McGuinness.
Mr Adams said: "The last time we had sight of the propositions the two governments had in mind was at the beginning of the Weston Park talks, and they were short of the Good Friday agreement at that point.
"There was a positive sign at the end of the Weston Park talks when the government spokesmen committed themselves to a package of propositions bedded in the Good Friday agreement and aimed at implementing it.
"That's the only way to go. If there are difficulties, they will have to be overcome and we want to see both the package produced and publicised as quickly as possible."