The Irish and British governments have given members of the Northern Assembly a deadline of 24 November to set up a power-sharing executive.
Following a meeting in Armagh, the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister warned that if no agreement is forthcoming by then, attempts at restoration would be suspended and the salaries of MLAs cancelled.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's News At One, Bertie Ahern said he hoped the DUP leader, Ian Paisley, would see today's developments as an opportunity that he should grasp.
Mr Paisley said there was no evidence that Sinn Féin/IRA would be any further advanced in giving up criminality by November.
He said that given that there would be no executive formed for the foreseeable future, the best way forward would be to recall the Assembly.
Sinn Féin's Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness stated that his party would meet to consider its position but it would be focusing on defending the core principles of the Good Friday Agreement.
Assembly to meet on 15 May
Under the governments' plan announced at Navan Fort, the Assembly would meet on 15 May and attempt to elect an executive within six weeks.
Failure to agree within that time period would see the final deadline of 24 November set for the restoration of power-sharing.
The two governments say they are committed to what they call a step change in advancing north-south co-operation and are beginning detailed work on partnership arrangements that would be necessary if the current initiative fails.
This morning's statement made no mention of Assembly scrutiny committees, which had been the focus of Sinn Féin and SDLP objections to the plan to bring back the Assembly next month.
The two governments said the Assembly could instead consider issues that the executive might in time have to deal with.
It comes eight years after the two leaders brokered the Good Friday Agreement.
In 1998, Ian Paisley and the DUP turned their backs on the deal. The arrangement floated today seeks to get all the main parties, including the DUP, into a power-sharing Assembly by the end of the year.
