A senior adviser to the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, has suggested that Assembly elections scheduled for May 1st should be postponed.
Mr David McNarry last night indicated that were any deal to emerge in the coming weeks in which the IRA would pledge to end all activity such a deal would need to be tested before elections were called.
While Mr Trimble has signalled that he is signed up for an election in May, these public comments from Mr McNarry indicate that, as The Irish Times reported yesterday, Ulster Unionists may still campaign for an election postponement.
"Crucial to unionist attitudes on a May election has to be the range of proof provided by republicans that, having been 'caught on', they have 'caught up' with completing the promises they have failed to deliver since April 1998," Mr McNarry said.
"Ultimately an election call rests with Downing Street, but to force a poll without first removing public unease and uncertainty over republican intentions would be a foolish decision," he added.
Meanwhile, there is "dismay" in Government circles at the Ulster Unionist leader's refusal to engage in round-table talks aimed at restoring devolution, according to a senior Dublin source.
The Sinn Féin and SDLP leaders also accused Mr Trimble of failing to honour his political responsibilities after the UUP leader confirmed that he would boycott Thursday's round-table talks hosted by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, and the Northern Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy.
Since the Stormont institutions were suspended last October Mr Trimble has refused to attend two plenary meetings of the pro-Belfast Agreement parties and the British and Irish governments. He attended a pre-Christmas round-table to stage a protest and then walked out.
Mr Gerry Adams complained of the "absenteeism" of Mr Trimble. "If he were a schoolboy his parents would be getting a very stiff note from his principal," he said.
Ulster Unionists said that the party had yet to decide whether it would send any delegation to Thursday's talks which are dealing with IRA and other paramilitary disarmament.
Mr Trimble said the party's attendance or non-attendance would depend on how the Irish Government responded to a report in the Sunday Independent claiming that the IRA had conducted an espionage operation against Fianna Fáil politicians including the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy.
"We are calling at this stage on the Irish Government to officially state the position. Was the story true? We must get the detail on this. We must make sure there is no cover-up going on at the moment. This is extremely important," he said yesterday.
Mr Trimble has made no secret of his reluctance to get involved in the talks. He claimed that they were a sop to the smaller parties, and that the real business was happening behind the scenes, chiefly involving republicans and Downing Street in discussions over whether the IRA would cease all activity.
Officially Government spokesmen referred questions on Mr Trimble's comments to the Garda statement about the newspaper report. A Garda spokesman repeated that, while there was a raid on a home in south Dublin last month, nothing was found that would support the newspaper report.
A Department of Justice source said that if gardaí were concerned they would alert the Department of any security risks to Ministers, and no such advice had been received.
A senior Government source said there was a general suspicion that Mr Trimble had seized on the report to justify not attending Thursday's meeting.
There was "dismay" at such tactics because, while the parallel private talks between the main parties and the two governments were important, the more public round-table negotiations were also crucial, he said.
