The Northern Secretary, Peter Hain, has said the DUP and Sinn Féin leaderships are committed to bringing about devolution.
In an interview this morning, Mr Hain accepted there was unease in both parties about delivering on their commitments.
Mr Hain described the present situation as 'the point where everything is coming together'.
He said that some unionists feared Ian Paisley saying yes to power with Sinn Féin and some republicans feared Sinn Féin leaders saying yes to policing and sharing power with Ian Paisley.
The DUP MEP, Jim Allister, has said he could not foresee a date when policing responsibilities could be devolved to a Stormont Executive including Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin.
Conor Murphy of Sinn Féin has said strong sections of the DUP have strong objections to power-sharing.
