SINN FÉIN leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness were last night holding out for some form of commitment on a timeframe for the transfer of policing and justice powers from First Minister Peter Robinson before agreeing to today's Northern Ireland Executive meeting.
The prospects of the scheduled Executive meeting taking place this afternoon remained uncertain last night as Mr Robinson and Deputy First Minister Mr McGuinness engaged in eleventh hour talks to see if a "workable" compromise was achievable.
Both Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness suggested that if an Executive was not held today it could be convened tomorrow or early next week.
Talks sources said that there has been some progress over the recent days of high-level talks between the DUP and Sinn Féin on issues such as policing and justice, the Irish language, education and future use of the Maze prison site.
The key hurdle, sources said, was a timeframe for devolving policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont.
One Sinn Féin talks source suggested there was room for "creative" thinking which would allow middle-ground to be found on the issue.
"Gordon Brown identified what is absent, a timeframe. 'Set the date' for devolving policing and justice, he said to Peter Robinson," the source said.
"If Peter Robinson at least gave an indication of what his timeframe was then people could judge whether this was workable or not. He needs to call this."
Mr Robinson several times has given a qualified commitment to the transfer of these powers, arguing that the DUP wants this devolution to happen but only when the party felt there was public confidence that the time was right for such a move.
Sinn Féin seemed to be indicating that if Mr Robinson were more forthcoming on a date - even if it were set in some "creative" or qualified manner - then the political deadlock could be broken.
Talks between the two parties were continuing late last night to determine if this was possible by this afternoon, or at least by next week.
Mr McGuinness, who attended a Heritage Lottery event with Mr Robinson in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast yesterday said it was more important to get the right agreement rather than to hold an Executive meeting today.
"If it takes another couple of days. If it takes another week to get an agenda right, I don't think people will be in the least concerned. If it was to take any longer than that I think we all would be very concerned. What we need to do is work flat out over the course of the coming period to agree an agenda," he said. There were indications last night that if Sinn Féin boycotts today's Executive that DUP, Ulster Unionist and SDLP ministers will meet informally to discuss urgent matters.
Mr McGuinness wrote to Mr Robinson yesterday evening arguing that if a meeting were not possible today that a £200 fuel poverty allowance should be executed by a special mechanism that would not require an Executive meeting to endorse it.
Mr Robinson immediately wrote back saying that such action was unnecessary and that the proposed allowance "can and should be" considered at today's scheduled Executive meeting.
Earlier at the Titanic Quarter Mr Robinson said the parties had a political, moral and "legal" responsibility to carry out business through the Executive.
He did not issue any specific threat about what action he would take were the Executive not convened.
His reference to "legal" responsibility, however, is understood to mean that he would take a legal case through the Independent Monitoring Commission or in the courts that Sinn Féin Ministers were breaching their pledges of office by not meeting in the Executive.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin and Northern Secretary Shaun Woodward will discuss the situation at Hillsborough Castle today.
