There has been a guarded response in Northern Ireland to suggestions for a possible political settlement floated by the British Government.

The proposals include a power sharing assembly for the province with a 'council of the isles', made up of representatives from all parts of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

The Unionist communities support the plan as "realistic" while Nationalist Republicans say they will not weaken ties with Ireland.

David Trimble: The plan reflects reality

The council would allow Catholics and Protestants to share power and draw members from the assemblies in Scotland and Wales and ministers from London and Dublin, according to The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

The Prime Minister Tony Blair has denied that these ideas were being floated to try to pacify the unionist community.

David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist party leader, welcomed the plan as a positive development.

"It is right that we have an umbrella covering the whole of the British Islands, dealing with the totality of the relationships there - north, south, east west and all the rest - and then you could locate a specific relationship on the north-south axis," Mr Trimble said. "That would reflect reality," he added.

Sinn Fein leaders say this is no solution

Unionists have long campaigned for a "council of the isles" but Republicans will not accept any solution that weakens the link between the north and the Irish Republic.

"There can be no predetermined outcome," said Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams. "All the issues need to be there to be discussed. And we of course want the end of the union. And we want the whole issue of our independence to be part of what is being negotiated."

SDLP deputy Seamus Mallon

Seamus Mallon, the deputy leader of the more moderate Nationalist group, the SDLP, was equally harsh: "I regard the whole proposal as speculative. And I regard the whole thing as impossible."

The peace talks at Stormont go ahead on Monday as scheduled. Any success that is achieved will depend on securing the agreement of all the parties involved.
 

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