Ahern visit to Number 10 offers fresh hope of breaking deadlock on Good Friday Agreement

All-party talks on breaking Northern Ireland's political deadlock were announced yesterday after Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, the Taoiseach, held a peace-process summit in Downing Street.

Both leaders were cautiously optimistic that progress was slowly being made in easing the crisis that led to the imposition of direct rule from London in October.

Next week's negotiations in Belfast will provide the first opportunity for all parties to meet since David Trimble, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, walked out of talks before Christmas. Mr Blair and Mr Ahern said they would try to chart a way to save the Good Friday Agreement in the next few weeks. The pressures the leaders face were underlined by the discovery of a bomb at the Northern Ireland Prison Service headquarters at Stormont. Bomb disposal experts dealt with what was described by police as a "crude" device at Dundonald House.

And Mr Trimble raised doubts whether his party would attend the talks, warning the level of trust among Unionists was now so low that "republicans must jump first" this time. But after yesterday's meeting at Downing Street, a source said: "There is a feeling that all the different elements for a deal are possibly there. But we're not under any illusions. A lot of work remains to be done and we still need greater clarity on what people are prepared to do."

Mr Ahern said: "Whatever discussions we have with the parties will be on the basis of the work that we have done today and the work that we will do directly from here on in."

Mr Blair's spokesman insisted that all the parties were engaging seriously and positively in talks.

Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein's president, said: "I welcome the fact there are going to be intensive discussions as that is something that Sinn Fein has been calling for since last October. We are certainly up for doing our bit to sort it out."