The Irish and British governments are preparing to exclude Sinn Fein from the Northern Ireland talks process on the basis that their associates in the IRA have demonstrably dishonoured the Mitchell Principles.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, discussed the situation with the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, yesterday, and contact was also made with the White House in Washington.
Those intensive contacts explored the need to protect the integrity of the talks process while leaving the door open for the future reinvolvement of Sinn Fein.
Government spokesmen refused to confirm that Sinn Fein will be excluded when the parties meet at Dublin Castle this morning, on the basis that a process has to be gone though: evidence of IRA involvement in last week's murders has to be presented and Sinn Fein must be offered an opportunity to defend its position.
However, they conceded that the recent expulsion of the UDP, because of the murders committed by the UDA/UFF, had set a precedent.
In a statement last night the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, said a procedure existed for considering complaints against any talks participant. In the event of a representation being made against Sinn Fein, all relevant matters would be carefully assessed, and everyone, including Sinn Fein, would have a chance to make their views known.
"It is the responsibility of the governments to weigh up the arguments and make their decision as provided for in the rules of procedure," he said.
With only seven weeks remaining before the deadline for an agreed settlement is reached, the governments are anxious to facilitate as inclusive a political process as possible, through the early readmittance of Sinn Fein.
In that regard, both governments are currently working on draft settlement proposals dealing with the totality of relations between the two islands, within a three-stranded settlement. It is hoped that agreement will be reached by the governments on the outline of a single document within three or four weeks. It could then be placed before the parties to the talks "when the time is right".
Moving the talks process to a secret venue abroad, following the readmission of Sinn Fein, may be the next step. And those negotiations, on the basis of the governments' draft final agreement, could last for up to a week.
As things stand, and given the enormous gulf that separates the negotiating papers on NorthSouth bodies prepared for the talks by the Ulster Unionist Party, the SDLP and Sinn Fein, the prospect of rapid progress in the current phase of negotiations - with or without Sinn Fein - appears to be remote. Government involvement, through a draft final agreement, is seen as vital in order to advance the negotiations.
The president of Sinn Fein, Mr Gerry Adams, has announced he will resist any attempt to remove his party from the talks today on the basis that it is a stand-alone party, is not responsible for the actions of the IRA and has an electoral mandate to attend the talks.
Suggestions that Sinn Fein would challenge, in the High Court, any attempt to expel it from the talks could not be confirmed last night. But Mr Alex Maskey has confirmed that the party will return to the talks, if it is expelled, on the basis that it must defend its right to be involved in an inclusive process.
It is understood that in order to minimise any bad feelings between the parties at the talks, the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mowlam, will seek the expulsion of Sinn Fein, rather than allow the Ulster Unionist Party to file the complaint. This is the process that was followed in relation to the exclusion of the UDP some weeks ago, and that party is now expected to be readmitted towards the end of the month.
Dr Mowlam's presentation will be based on security evidence that the IRA was directly implicated in two murders last week. And she is expected to quote from a report prepared by the RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan.
Sinn Fein will then be invited to respond to the charge that an associated group demonstrably dishonoured the Mitchell Principles, which underpin its attendance at the talks. Other parties will then be invited to make their observations before Dr Mowlam and Mr Andrews withdraw to make their findings.
Last week's IRA statement that its "cessation of military operations remains intact" was an apparent attempt to distinguish between attacks on the British army and the RUC and the murder of persons suspected of drug dealing or of loyalist activities.
Government sources commented last night that such an approach "just would not wash".