The rift between the Government and the Ulster Unionist Party has been healed following the visit by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, to the Stormont talks. However, the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, stressed the dialogue was "still very much an exploratory discussion".
Relations between the two sides had soured when the UUP objected vociferously to remarks by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, over the powers to be given to North-South bodies.
After meeting a UUP delegation headed by Mr Trimble yesterday, the Taoiseach told reporters: "We put the events of the past week behind us; we have built on our successful London meeting and we're going to stay in touch."
At a separate press conference, Mr Trimble said: "We are agreed that we should both of us put last week - and the rather unfortunate interviews that were given - behind us, and see if we can return to the sort of approach that appeared possible after our meeting in London."
Mr Ahern also toured West Belfast, where he was welcomed by the Sinn Fein president and local MP, Mr Gerry Adams. He made the first-ever visit by a Taoiseach to Belfast City Hall, where he was greeted by the SDLP Lord Mayor, Mr Alban Maginness.
Speaking at Stormont, the SDLP's chief negotiator in the talks, Mr Seamus Mallon, said his party had "a very constructive, interesting meeting" with the Taoiseach.
Mr Mallon warned against efforts to reach a settlement outside the formal negotiations at Stormont: "I would like to see much more focus within the talks. The real centre of gravity should be the talks process itself. It is within these talks, with all of their problems, that the matters will be resolved," he told reporters.
The Taoiseach described his encounter with Mr Trimble and his UUP colleagues, Messrs John Taylor, Ken Maginnis and Reg Empey, as "a very useful meeting, a useful dialogue". Quite clearly there was "far more engagement" in the talks at this stage.
He hoped that sessions of the talks on Strand Two, which deals with North-South relations, would be held in Dublin and London over the next few months.
UUP sources expressed particular interest afterwards in comments made during his press conference by Mr Ahern on Strand Two of the talks. The Taoiseach defined this strand as "mutual co-operation in the interests of developing the issues that would be common to the island of Ireland".
Asked if he had been given assurances on north-south bodies, Mr Trimble said: "Neither party was in the process or business of giving assurances. This is still very much an exploratory discussion, just as the discussion in London was exploratory."
He was encouraged by what he saw as movement on the issue of setting up an "umbrella" institution representing parliaments and assemblies throughout the two islands. He said what were currently called north-south and east-west issues would be addressed within that structure.
"The realities of the situation are that while there are linkages and matters of interest on a Belfast-Dublin axis, those are dwarfed by the interests that Dublin has on an east-west axis, and ditto Belfast." Mr Trimble queried the wisdom of moving sessions of the talks to Dublin and London at present: "There are disadvantages about moving when we don't actually have very much positive to point to."
Ms Dodie McGuinness of Sinn Fein welcomed the Taoiseach's visit: "We think it's a very important development in terms of the peace process and it reflects the commitment of the Irish Government as co-sponsors."