Historic agreement on horizon

DESPITE the lack of a hard-and-fast deal so far from the intense round of negotiations in the North, hopes are strong that an agreement involving an IRA decision to take the gun of out of Irish politics once and for all will be brokered within weeks.

Though serious obstacles remain, the pro-agreement parties are tantalisingly close to a historic breakthrough that would restore the power-sharing government which collapsed amid the republican spy scandal.

The atmosphere at Hillsborough has been optimistic, which was reflected in last night’s statement from the British and Irish governments outlining the significant progress towards reviving the Assembly rooted in the Good Friday agreement.