Taoiseach says time is running out for North deal

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.

Speaking in Dublin today, Mr Ahern said the whole peace process could be frozen until 2006 if a deal is not reached by next month.

However, he said the issues at the centre of the current impasse could be overcome and all sides had already moved significantly in an effort to make progress.

Sinn Féin is believed to have offered complete IRA decommissioning and an end to paramilitary activity during recent talks on the matter at Leeds Castle in Britain.

However, the talks collapsed due to the DUP's demands for changes to the Good Friday Agreement that both Sinn Féin and the SDLP said would effectively lead to a return to unionist majority rule.