The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister have discussed the possibility of moving the Northern talks to a secret venue, from which the press would be excluded, in their final stage.
It has also been confirmed that the process of assessing whether the Ulster Democratic Party should be allowed to re-enter the talks will take "a number of weeks". The UDP is unlikely to attend the talks in Dublin, beginning on February 16th, because it would be "too early", according to sources.
Signals that the governments were considering moving the talks to a secret destination "within these islands" and that the British government would "begin the process" of assessing the UDP's eligibility to return to the talks came from the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, during a day-long visit to Dublin yesterday. She said she would like the peace talks to be moved for three days to a location somewhere in Britain or Ireland where the press did not have access to them.
The press had been "reasonable", she said, "but you can't put all that's happening in the talks in the public domain because you can't negotiate in the press - it actually makes it impossible to negotiate."
Dr Mowlam conceded that it was "an awful day" for the press outside Stormont "to hang around waiting for tidbits and if the parties come out, they then tend to talk to their constituents, which makes it look that the process isn't as positive as it actually is, day on day".
She suggested that "if we can have three days where we're in an enclosed area and the press can't get within 200 yards, I think we have a better chance of moving things forward".
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, indicated yesterday it was too early yet to fix a secret venue for the talks. "I think there's a time for doing that and we're not just at that time now," he said.
Though Austria and Finland have offered to host the talks, it is understood that both governments believe a venue in Britain or Ireland might be more suitable if the meeting was to run for only three days.
Dr Mowlam also said she would "begin to assess in word and deed" the time-scale for the UDP's return to the talks probably at the end of next week "before I come to Dublin". Informed sources later confirmed, however, that it would be premature to consider a UDP re-entry in Dublin and that the process could take weeks.
In a packed schedule, Dr Mow lam met the Taoiseach, the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, and the DL leader, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, yesterday. She also met members of the British-Irish Parliamentary Body. She attended a private dinner hosted by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, and Minister of State, Ms Liz O'Donnell, in Iveagh House last evening. She will meet the Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, this morning.
Dr Mowlam commented on the role of women in Northern politics, during an appearance on RTE's Gay Byrne Show. She said the Women's Coalition was "a wonderful plus for the peace process". She said women were "better accommodators, better compromisers and tough".
"I think that sometimes you need to be stronger and tougher to accommodate and compromise than to stick to your position. It's sometimes easier to not move than to move, and you have to be quite strong and determined and tough to move." Editorial comment: page 17