The Irish and British governments said today they believed the package presented by them last week was capable of bring about the early restoration of power sharing in Northern Ireland.
In a joint statement by the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, the governments said the package could "fully realise the vision of a new beginning" promised by the Belfast Agreement.
"The Governments remain fully committed to this vision, to the early restoration of devolved government on an inclusive basis in Northern Ireland and the full operation of all of the political institutions of the Belfast Agreement," the statement said.
The statement was issued after Northern Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, met in Hillsborough Castle, Co Down. They were joined by the US special envoy Mr Mitchell Reiss. They will also meet with political parties today.