Sinn Féin today announced that it would participate in Northern Ireland Assembly debates over the coming months.
However Martin McGuinness stressed that members would only engage in talks that genuinely contributed to restoring the Belfast Agreement.
The Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle met in Dublin to deal with a report from the party's negotiations committee in relation to its involvement in the Hain Assembly.
The Mid Ulster MP later said serious misgivings regarding the approach of the two governments were expressed at the meeting, but he insisted it would be possible to make progress with both governments playing a decisive role.
He also feared the stringing out of the process was seriously undermining public confidence and reducing the potential for progress.
"It is their responsibility to see major progress made in the time ahead," said Mr McGuinness, calling on both governments to get a grip in the coming weeks.
"We need to see an intensification of efforts if that is to happen.
"It was clear from the outset that the establishment of an Assembly with no powers and with a protracted time scale was going to cause difficulties and that has proved to be the case.
"Despite the best efforts of the majority of parties very little progress towards restoration of the political institutions has been made over the last four months," he said.
Since the recall of the Assembly in May, Sinn Fein's 24 MLAs have refused to take part in debates which have been taking throughout the summer in Stormont.
But the party has been involved in efforts within the Assembly to form a power sharing executive.
Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams also tried to have Democratic Unionist leader the Rev Ian Paisley elected alongside Mr McGuinness as the First and Deputy First Ministers of a new power sharing government. The DUP leader refused the nomination.
The SDLP has participated in debates along with the DUP, the Ulster Unionist Party, Alliance Party and other unionist representatives.
Mr McGuinness said Sinn Féin wants to see the power-sharing institutions restored before November 24th and will work flat out to do all it can to ensure that the opportunities opened up last year are not squandered.