An international photographer was being lined up to provide visual evidence of IRA disarmament in the event of a landmark Northern Ireland peace process deal, it emerged today.

Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness will today talk face-to-face for the first time with a Northern Ireland Chief Constable.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said tonight he was confident the Rev Ian Paisley was sincere about striking a deal with republicans.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will today meet the SDLP after its leader criticised current peace process negotiations.

Sinn Féin appears to have taken its eye off the ball in defending the interests of nationalists and supporters of the Good Friday Agreement in talks to revive power sharing at Stormont, a rival claimed today.

Northern Ireland’s politicians were tonight preparing for another week of intense negotiations as hopes of a significant peace process breakthrough rose.

Northern Ireland’s politicians and the Irish and British governments are approaching a defining moment in the political process, Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator Martin McGuinness claimed tonight.

Northern Ireland's politicians are on the verge of a historic compromise if they are willing to seize the opportunity, former Stormont talks chairman Senator George Mitchell said today.

The Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, told his party’s annual conference in the North today that the DUP have let republicans off the hook.

The peace process has stalled due the Democratic Unionists undermining the principles of the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Féin claimed today.

Tony Blair must nail down the IRA on a commitment to fully disarm and end paramilitarism if Northern Ireland’s Assembly is to return, it was urged today.

David Trimble’s Ulster Unionist and Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists should put their differences aside and form a Westminster coalition, it was claimed tonight.

The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said that time is running out for Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party to reach agreement on restoring devolved government in the North.

Gerry Adams has put forward only “vague proposals” about what the Irish and British governments should do if a deal to restore devolution at Stormont fails, a member of the SDLP claimed today.

THREE Sinn Féin elected representatives are also members of the IRA Army Council, Justice Minister Michael McDowell has claimed.

The Taoiseach has told the Dáil that the prospects of a breakthrough in the Northern peace process have slowed.

Brotosh Prime Minister Tony Blair was tonight told he must prove over the next few days that he would stick to his word on securing full IRA disarmament.

The British and Irish governments were today urged to press the Democratic Unionists over their attitudes to power sharing in local councils and at Stormont.

IT would be hard to exaggerate the importance for the peace process, North and South, of today’s Irish Examiner exclusive that the Provisional IRA could stand down next March, taking the gun out of Irish politics once and for all.

Two senior members of the Ulster Unionist Party have held talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern at Iveagh House in Dublin.

Northern Secretary Paul Murphy is due to meet Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern today to discuss the ongoing impasse in the Irish peace process.

A question mark still hangs over the Democratic Unionists’ commitment to power sharing in Northern Ireland, it was claimed today.

Sinn Féin could be part of a future coalition government if it clearly severs its links with terror, the party was told tonight.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday rowed back publicly from the views expressed by Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern that it was only a “matter of time” before Sinn Féin would be considered as suitable coalition partners for Fianna Fáil.

Sinn Féin today urged the Democratic Unionists to engage in direct talks in order to break the political deadlock.

Sinn Féin officials will meet in Dublin today to review the state of the talks aimed at restoring power sharing.

Republicans will reject proposals to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland if they fall short of the Good Friday Agreement, the British and Irish Governments were warned tonight.

The British government seems to be in the dark about what exactly the IRA will do to revive power-sharing in Northern Ireland, a senior Ulster Unionist claimed today.

The DUP and the UUP have clashed at the Conservative Party conference in Britain over strategy towards the IRA.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has warned the unionist majority in the North must not be given a veto over progress as part of efforts to restore the Stormont Assembly.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams will today challenge claims that the DUP is not intent on changing the Good Friday Agreement.

The next peace process deal in the North must ensure loyalist and republican paramilitarism disappears forever, the new Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern insisted today.

WHILE the significance of the visit of Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley to Government Buildings for discussions cannot be understated, it does not signal a dramatic shift in policy.

AS the Reverend Ian Paisley strode out of Government Buildings yesterday after his historic visit to Dublin, he was reminiscent of the lion in winter.

Irish republicans are on the verge of an historic makeover, a senior US State Department official claimed tonight.

The Rev Ian Paisley said he wished to build up a relationship between North and South tonight and pledged to continue working towards a political breakthrough.

Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley will today meet the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for their first political discussions in Dublin.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern laid down a blueprint yesterday for the final two years of the Government, promoting three new faces to the Cabinet and shuffling his remaining pack.

The Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin have continued to blame each other for the failure to reach a breakthrough in talks aimed at restoring devolved government in the North.

Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy is today set to announce his intention to increase the role of a special police unit set up to investigate unsolved murders in the North.

HOPES for a peace deal in the North which would see the IRA wound up were revived last night after Ian Paisley agreed to an unprecedented meeting with the Taoiseach in Dublin.

Gerry Adams today urged the Government to abandon attempts to woo Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists into a peace deal and press ahead with troop cuts in Northern Ireland.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern were urged today to “call the Democratic Unionists’ bluff” by triggering power sharing moves in Northern Ireland.

The DUP claim SDLP opposition to a new model of power sharing for Northern Ireland is frustrating the chance to test the IRA’s commitment to peace.