The deputy leader of the DUP, Peter Robinson, has said he wants to see positive relations between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Addressing a business conference in Dublin, Mr Robinson also said the time for 'woolly words' and 'half measures' in the political dialogue was over.
He told the annual conference of the Small Firms Association at Dublin Castle that there is a real prospect of peace and stability in the North if the paramilitaries moved off the stage.
He also called on the IRA to destroy its guns and end its terror campaign.
In a wide-ranging speech, Mr Robinson said republicans would either have to commit themselves to exclusively peaceful and democratic means, or they would have no place in government.
Mr Robinson added that he had come at an interesting and crucial time in the peace process and that only time would tell whether progress could be made between all the political parties in the North.
The parties are due to hold discussions at Leeds Castle in Kent later this month.
