The Democratic Unionist Party will refuse to sign up to any quick-fix deal to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland, a senior member warned tonight.
As the Taoiseach Mr Ahern set a 20-day deadline for progress in talks to restore the Stormont Assembly and executive, Democratic Unionist MEP Mr Jim Allister said his party was seeking a lasting settlement which rectified fatal flaws in the Belfast Agreement.
"With multiple collapses to its name only a fool or a knave would insist no change is necessary," he said.
"The essentials for stable institutions are the following:
"Executive office only for those demonstrably and irreversibly detached from armed paramilitary organisations and criminal activity
"An effective mechanism to exclude any who subsequently breach the practice of exclusively peaceful and democratic means
"The Assembly as the elected forum must have the capacity to call executive members to account, both in the exercise of executive functions and cross-border responsibilities.
"There can be no wild cat ministerial action which defies the wish of the elected Assembly."
The British and Irish Governments' bid to restore devolution has been frustrated in recent weeks by a row between unionists and nationalists over power sharing.
Despite claims from the British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair that the IRA is poised to undertake groundbreaking moves on its future and on disarmament, the DUP has clashed with Sinn Féin and the SDLP over power-sharing models.