Monitor: Reaction in the Irish press to the latest developments in the Northern Ireland peace process

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Belfast Telegraph

Do unionists want to see a genuine partnership established with nationalists, and to enter "a new era of co-operation, reconciliation and mutual respect"? Or, as happened with disastrous results for this community 25 years ago, do they want to take a stand against change? Now is decision time. Either they can move forward or else they can run the risk of isolating the majority community here from the real world. The focus of attention is on Mr Trimble. In our estimation, he has been right in his determination all along to strike the hardest bargain possible in relation to decommissioning. Had some of the other centrist parties in the Assembly taken a more principled stand on the weapons issue throughout, rather than urging unionists to take a "leap in the dark", we might have reached this point at an earlier stage.

Irish News

We must always be aware that there are individuals and organisations on both sides of the sectarian divide who remain determined to destroy all the progress made over the last 19 months. However, with each day that passes, we are a step closer to the prize of a fair and permanent peace settlement. Obstacles which initially looked intimidating have been reduced, through hard work and persistence, to manageable proportions. There are now grounds for at least a reasonable degree of optimism in hoping that the remaining challenges will be safely and swiftly negotiated. (Belfast)

Irish Times

The ice that locked the political system into immobility in Northern Ireland for 17 months is finally breaking up and the thaw is bringing hope to those people on both sides of the Border who voted overwhelmingly for the Belfast Agreement. Responsibility for the success or failure of this initiative now lies with the IRA. Any meaningful statement from the IRA would, of necessity, involve the nomination of a representative to discuss voluntary decommissioning within the terms of the Agreement and support the initiative of Sinn Fein. The sooner that communication is issued the better. (Dublin)

Cork Examiner

Long hours of face-to-face negotiations under the patient guidance of Senator George Mitchell are finally paying dividends with the dawning of a new era of political consensus and unstoppable progress towards genuine democracy in Northern Ireland. Who would have imagined so much could be achieved in so short a time? Whatever transpires, the North's political landscape has changed utterly. Never before have opposing leaders expressed such concepts so frankly. Unbreakable bridges now span the gulf between once bitterly divided communities. Loyalists and republicans are finally poised to share inclusive, power-sharing government which could bring some semblance of normality to the North's embattled communities in a refreshing new era of understanding, reconciliation, and mutual respect.

Irish Independent

The opponents of the Agreement have been loud in impeding progress, at no stage offering any constructive alternative. In these negotiations what matters is the result. The role of sequencing will become crucial in both the actual and symbolic. Arriving as we are at the endgame, the fear of splits on both sides will intensify. Such worries must not be allowed to take from the momentum. It has been an epic and often heartbreaking journey, but one senses that we are within sight of the bend for home.