After stepping out of his helicopter this morning at Stormont on the outskirts of Belfast, Mr Blair said that the sooner all parts of the Good Friday Agreement could be put in place the better.

But more than seven months after the signing of the historic accord, the prime minister must be feeling anxious about the lack of trust which still impedes cooperation and progress between the key players.

Paramilitary disarmament

The most significant problem concerns a long term thorn in the side of the peace process - the contentious issue of paramilitary disarmament.

Northern Ireland's First Minister David Trimble is continuing to delay appointing any further ministers to a future devolved Northern Ireland government until the destruction of IRA weapons begins.

He insists that he is not prepared to sit at a cabinet table with the IRA's political allies, Sinn Fein, until disarmament starts.

Mr Trimble is delaying until destruction of IRA weapons begins

Sinn Fein point out that under the Good Friday Agreement they are entitled to ministerial posts in accordance with the votes they receive. Moreover, they argue that whilst the Agreement envisages a two year timetable for disarmament, it doesn't contain any clause specifying when the destruction of weapons should begin or any paragraph specifically linking taking ministerial posts to the arms issue.

A solution to the stand off over guns is still proving elusive, so no cabinet of ministers has yet been formed, even though the Agreement provides for them to start taking over real governmental responsibility as early as February.

Progress on other matters

In the meantime the politicians are trying to make progress on other related matters: specifically the shape of the future, devolved administration and the remit and number of cross border north-south bodies which are meant to operate in parallel with the new government.

Some reports indicate that agreement is close on six cross border bodies - covering areas like inland waterways, food safety and marine matters. But even the remit of these bodies is causing dissension between nationalists and unionists.

Nationalists want the new institutions to be as strong as possible and to cover important areas like inward investment. Unionists fear that the cross border bodies could be an embryonic United Ireland, so seem intent on keeping their role within strictly defined limits.