A real effort was being made to bridge the gap "between what is possible and what is needed on disarmament", the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, said last night.
She was confident but not complacent that the Belfast Agreement would be successfully implemented in all its aspects.
Listing the four broad reasons for her confidence, Ms O'Donnell said the agreement was the firm will of the people, there was no alternative to it, a huge amount had already been done, and the potential of the agreement was becoming more apparent.
In advance of the visit by the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister to Belfast next week, Ms O'Donnell said that despite the difficulties a real effort was being made to explore the limited room for manoeuvre.