Talks among officials from the Irish and British governments and pro-Agreement parties in the North are to continue today despite differing views on the success of yesterday's meetings.
British Prime Tony Blair is hopeful the deadlock that has seen the suspension of power-sharing could be resolved in less than three weeks, but both Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionists say little new emerged during yesterday's talks.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, was cautiously optimistic last night: "This is going to be a long process but I think we are getting there," he said.
Mr Ahern and Mr Blair will return to Northern Ireland on March 3rd; setting a timetable for a path to full implementation of the Belfast Agreement to be agreed.
Mr Blair said the process was "going to be difficult" and conceded there would be ups and downs. He said that he and Mr Ahern would be meeting again in a few days to measure what progress was being made.
Although Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionists appeared publicly sceptical that a swift deal was prending, Mr David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist party said: "It is clear from the dialogue the prime minister used to us that it is game on and he seems to think it can be done in a very short timeframe".
To satisfy unionists, any deal that emerges will have to involve major disarmament by the IRA and a statement that it is standing down or ending all paramilitary acts.
To satisfy Sinn Féin, there will need to be British government moves on demilitarisation - reducing troop levels and removing military watchtowers in republican areas.
Sinn Féin chairman Mr Mitchel McLaughlin last night expressed frustration the Government had not given detailed responses to a whole list of issues put to them by the party in recent weeks.
"If there are ideas there, if they have formulated them, they didn't set them on the table today. There was a lack of specific detail on the issues," he said
Ulster unionist leader Mr David Trimble was also sceptical of an imminent breakthrough. He said there would need to be some pretty dramatic movement by republicans and added: "At the moment I have no sense of that being the case".
SDLP leader Mark Durkan said there would need to be intensive discussions leading up to March 3rd. "People want to see us pointing a way forward."