Trimble to meet US envoy today
The Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble is meeting the US envoy to Ireland, Richard Haass at around 8am today and the SDLP are visiting the Taoiseach in Dublin this afternoon.
The Taoiseach has already said he is open to the idea that an auditor be appointed to monitor paramilitary ceasefires.
He has said, however, that the power of the Northern Secretary to have the last word on whether a ceasefire has been breached must remain.
This appears to be precisely the British government’s intention - although both the SDLP and Sinn Fein are deeply worried about where this could all lead.
There is concern this could shift the focus once again from political progress onto wrangling over individual incidents with unionists and republicans playing the blame game.
When the SDLP leader, Mark Durkan, meets Mr Ahern this afternoon that will certainly be one item on the agenda, with policing reforms, concerns about unionist confidence in the process and sectarian violence also on the list.
