Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today that 2006 would be a "make-or-break year" for Northern Ireland's political institutions.
Speaking after talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Downing Street, Mr Ahern said the two were keen to see progress on the restoration of devolution early in the new year.
He acknowledged that there were "a number of difficult issues" to be resolved but said he wanted to see power-sharing revived at Stormont over the coming months.
The Northern Ireland Assembly and other institutions were suspended in 2002 following claims that a republican spy ring was operating at Stormont. Three people arrested over the allegations had charges against them dropped yesterday.
Hopes for their restoration were fuelled by the completion of Provisional IRA disarmament in September. Ceasefire watchdog the Independent Monitoring Commission is due to report in January, and both London and Dublin hope that this will be the trigger for the return of devolution.
Following his hour-long talks in Downing Street today, Mr Ahern told reporters: "We have been reviewing how we work our way through the early period of 2006.
"The IMC report is due in late January. What we want to do is get as much momentum after the Christmas break as we can. . . . 2006 will be a make-or-break year in terms of getting the institutions up.
"There are a number of difficult issues, as there always are. I think they are being dealt with. I think we now have to come to conclusions and make progress on this and turn momentum into action early in 2006," he said.
Mr Ahern played down the significance of the controversy over an amnesty for paramilitaries on the run, saying it was "just an issue to deal with".