A new bid to break the deadlock in the Northern Ireland peace process will begin next week, the Taoiseach Mr Ahern and the British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair said last night.
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Mr Tony Blair and Mr Bertie Ahern in Hillsborough last night
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They were speaking after discussions in Hillsborough with pro-Agreement parties.
"We can’t go on endlessly," Mr Ahern said. We really have to see if we can reach a new conclusion.,"
Mr David Trimble announced yesterday that he will go through with his threat to resign as First Minister on Sunday in the absence of IRA decommissioning.
"If, as I expect, I vacate the office on Sunday there will then be no First Minister," the Ulster Unionist leader said. "There will be no First Minister, there will be no Deputy First Minister and that will be the position up until there is a fresh election (in the Stormont Assembly)."
Mr Trimble said he expected today's report from the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning to confirm no movement on IRA decommissioning.
He said the challenge to Dublin and Londonwas: "What are you going to do in response to this?"
Speaking after the talks, Mr Blair said: "The outstanding issues are still there.
"But they want the agreement in all of its aspects to be implemented and they want to know that we will have a government in Northern Ireland, based in Northern Ireland, representative of all of the communities in Northern Ireland dedicated to a peaceful and democratic process for resolving any differences that there are."
He refused to contemplate suspending political institutions should Mr Trimble resign.
Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams and his party emerged from talks insisting that decommissioning was not solely the responsibility of republicans.
Mr Adams accused the British government of destroying the deal reached last May with the IRA to put its weapons beyond use.
He also warned the twogovernments that the suspension of the political institutions in response to Mr Trimble's resignation would be "an absolute folly".
Stormont Deputy First Minister Mr Seamus Mallon said: "This is a serious political problem. It is a serious problem on the ground and some of the political parties are playing with people's well-being and the well-being of the Agreement.''
PA