Goverments to speed up NI peace talks
The British and Irish governments tonight vowed to step up the pace of talks in a bid to force a breakthrough in the Northern Ireland peace process.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Prime Minister Tony Blair said all parties knew exactly what had to be done to create stable power sharing institutions at Stormont.
Both leaders called on all those involved to redouble their efforts to end all paramilitarism and set up inclusive government.
Mr Blair said a new phase of intensive talks involving all the parties would begin after the St Patrick’s Day break.
“The two issues are indeed how we bring about an end to paramilitarism, whether loyalist or republican, and also then how we make sure that there is a genuine willingness to share power,” he said.
