Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he was confident a ground-breaking move by the provisional IRA was imminent.
The Taoiseach made his comments as Sinn Féin's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, flew to the US today as speculation mounts that the IRA is preparing to issue a landmark statement on its future.
Martin McGuinness, who is being accompanied by party colleague Rita O'Hare, is travelling to New York and Washington DC to brief Sinn Féin supporters on the current state of the peace process.
Observers have billed the trip as significant, as in the past senior Sinn Féin figures have travelled to the US ahead of key moves by the provisional IRA such as the 1994 ceasefire and acts of decommissioning.
Speaking in Galway today, the Taoiseach said "I think hopefully, hopefully, because I can't be certain on this issue, because I don't control the writing of these statements, but the Government's position is very clear on it that I do genuinely believe that we are within days of seeing an enormous change in the situation," he said.
He said he expected some movement within the next 24 or 36 hours.
The IRA has spent the last four months debating how to answer calls from Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams to abandon the armed struggle and embrace democracy.
And with a public statement from the IRA expected, possibly in the next 24 hours, Mr Ahern stressed the terror group had to address all the issues from arms, to training, to targeting.
"I have given you, I think, the issues that we want to see, the issues of decommissioning fully dealt with, we want to see the full range of arms and explosives and all of the military arms dealt with," he said.
"We want to see criminality and all of the issues, the targeting, the procurement, the training, all these issues fully and completely ended.
"The only way that can be done is if the provisional IRA move and instruct their volunteers to end the campaign that has gone on for years, but we have to wait and see what happens."