The Democratic Unionist Party and the British government now bear responsibility for the next steps to restore Northern Ireland's political institutions, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has declared.
He paid tribute to the Sinn Féin leadership "for bringing their organisation this distance in a united way" on foot of Sunday's overwhelming vote by the party's ardfheis to support policing and the rule of law.
Asked if the DUP would now create new hurdles for Sinn Féin, Mr Ahern replied: "In all the areas that Sinn Féin said they would deliver on they have.
"There have been hiccups along the way. For people to start saying that they again need another period is not a reasonable position.
"I think we can take it that the position has been made, that it is irreversible and we should move on with it," he told journalists in Dublin.
However, Mr Ahern, who will meet British prime minister, Tony Blair, in Downing Street tonight, made clear that the British government now has to act, and to put pressure on the DUP.
"I don't want to pre-empt that decision [ on whether to call the elections for March 7th or not]. I do want to hear the analysis of the PM before I come to that.
"I have been dealing in an effort to deliver certainty on my side. There has been a fair amount of responsibility put back on me by the British government, by unionists and by loyalists over the years about the unique and special role that I was in.
"It is now fair enough for me to say that responsibility rests elsewhere," said Mr Ahern, who said he wanted to hear directly from Mr Blair about the latter's frequent contacts with the DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, over recent weeks.
He went on: "Less than two years when the bar was put up - and I felt it was a pole-vault bar, not a high-jump bar - when it was said we want decommissioning of republicans, we want the IRA to make a clear and unambiguous declaration that the struggle and the Troubles are over from their perspective, and to see them embracing the rule of law. That was a high bar. But we got there.
"I really think that we have to move quickly and speedily and in line with British legislation. British legislation now predetermines that these things happen, that the powersharing executive be set up." While not expecting the DUP to announce that it will definitely enter into powersharing with Sinn Féin after the election, the Government is concerned that it does nothing to rule it out during the campaign itself.
Under the terms of the St Andrews Agreement, the election can be abandoned - even after it has been officially called - if parties do not run with the intent of joining a powersharing administration.
Though the Taoiseach was quick to praise the Sinn Féin leadership on foot of Sunday's result, Tánaiste and Progressive Democrats leader, Michael McDowell, said it was "a tragedy" that it had not happened years earlier.
"I welcome the decision of anybody to uphold the rule of law and to respect the police force of Northern Ireland. I believe it is important that this is made clear, but what I would say is that it is a terrible tragedy that it wasn't done five, or seven years ago in the immediate aftermath of the Good Friday agreement."
