The DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, has proposed that the major savings in security spending that would follow a political deal in the North should be handed to a new power-sharing Executive and used to improve the North's infrastructure.
In his first major address in the Republic, Mr Robinson said that this "peace fund" could be worth close to £1 billion over a number of years.
If there were a genuine settlement, he said, "the money that would have been going into police, security, all of the compensation that was being paid out because of the damage that was caused, let that go into improving the infrastructure of Northern Ireland."
Mr Robinson's proposal is seen as further evidence of his party's interest in a historic deal with Sinn Féin. It signals that the DUP is already considering in detail how the North would be run in the wake of such an agreement, although Mr Robinson warned that a settlement may not be finalised during the three-day negotiation at Leeds Castle next week. The talks will be attended by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair.
In a speech to the annual meeting of the Small Firms Association in Dublin Castle, Mr Robinson repeated that the completion of "the decommissioning of all the illegal weapons and the ending of all paramilitary activity" was "a fundamental precondition" for his party to agree to share power with Sinn Féin.
He said he hoped that "we can make real progress" at Leeds Castle, but added: "I must caution that if it takes two years to put together a deal that collapsed, it is a 'big ask' to put together, within a year, a deal which will work."
His remarks reflect the growing view among a number of talks participants that while a final deal is not likely to emerge next week, the Leeds Castle sessions may produce substantial progress which will be built upon in the subsequent weeks.
"If there is more work required after the Leeds Castle negotiations we shall not walk away," said Mr Robinson. "We will not give up. We will not turn our back on the negotiating process."
Mr Robinson is understood to have sought an opportunity to make a significant speech to an audience in the Republic. He stressed that he wanted to see a "congenial and positive" relationship between North and South and said unionists could only take exception to greater co-operation if it is "driven by political ideology rather than practical considerations".
He rejected reports of tensions between him and the DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, and the frequent characterisation of him as being more pragmatic and Dr Paisley being more hardline. "I have never had an argument or a cross word with Ian, so where the reports come from I'm not sure, but they are far from reality."
He said Dr Paisley's support was vital for any deal to be accepted by unionists. "He in my view is a remarkable individual who has been capable of winning the trust of the unionist community, and therefore is an essential component in terms of any agreement that will come out of Leeds Castle or any event beyond it."
He said he had already put the proposal for a "peace fund" to the British government. Over the past 25 years the Republic's infrastructure had overtaken that of the North, as funds in Northern Ireland were diverted to pay for security. Any new administration in the North needed to be able to address the past underfunding of infrastructure, he said. Such a fund would be a great incentive to ensure violence didn't restart, if you knew that by resorting to violence you were "taking the money away from your own people".
Asked about the symbolism of his coming to Dublin to speak he said: "As a committed unionist, I don't think it betrays any of my principles to put the case that I hold to people who have different viewpoints.
" It provides a platform for me to put forward our views and to make it clear that we genuinely and sincerely are wanting to move forward and it is the desire of all the people of Northern Ireland to see real progress being made."