Four new British-Irish treaties providing for the establishment, in principle, of North-South bodies and other institutions in the Belfast Agreement will be signed in Dublin in the next few days.
Final details of the treaties were agreed between the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the North's First Minister, Mr Trimble, at a meeting in Dublin yesterday morning.
In a push to bring the major components of the Belfast Agreement to the point of implementation prior to President Clinton's expected intervention on the decommissioning impasse on St Patrick's Day in Washington, enabling legislation to ratify three of the treaties could be in the Dail next week.
The biggest treaty, setting up the six North-South implementation bodies which were agreed before Christmas, is expected to be signed by representatives of the British and Irish governments within days.
Three other one-page treaties, allowing for the setting up of the North-South Ministerial Council, the British-Irish Council and the new British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, will be signed on the same day.
Legislation will be introduced in the Dail and at Westminster, possibly as early as next week, to ratify three of the four treaties. The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, to replace the Maryfield conference in the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, will not require legislation.
Government sources confirmed last night that none of the new institutions or implementation bodies will "go live" until the Northern executive can be established. It was important to have the legislative framework ready in case the decommissioning logjam could be broken.
Meanwhile, it is openly conceded in Government circles that Wednesday's deadline, March 10th, for the setting up of the Northern executive will not be met. The "psychological target" is now Good Friday, April 2nd, the first anniversary of the signing of the Belfast Agreement.
President Clinton has offered his assistance to the two governments to help "in any way" in St Patrick's week to resolve the decommissioning impasse, which is precluding the setting up of the Northern executive. But Government sources said that it was unclear, at this point, what role, if any, he could be asked to play. The British and Irish governments will discuss this matter in the next week.
It is understood that roundtable meetings of the governments and Northern parties are not being considered because the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, will not be in Washington.
The first British-Irish treaty will pave the way for the creation of six North-South implementation bodies: inland waterways, food safety, trade and business development, special EU programmes, languages (Irish and Ulster-Scots), and aqua-culture and marine matters.
Six specific areas for North-South co-operation are also envisaged: transport, agriculture, education, health, environment, and tourism, including the creation by Bord Failte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board of a publicly-owned limited company to cover all-Ireland tourism promotion.
The North-South Council, which is expected to be based in Armagh, will bring together ministers in Northern Ireland and the Irish Government.
