Talks between the Northern Ireland pro-Agreement parties aimed at restoring devolution are being chaired by the British and Irish Governments at Stormont.

Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen are hosting the first face-to-face talks between the parties since the suspension of devolution on 14 October.

The province's political institutions were suspended following a row over allegations of IRA activity, including intelligence gathering at Stormont.

The real reason we are here is because the IRA have brought this process to its knees Sir Reg Empey Ulster Unionist

Two representatives each from the Ulster Unionist Party, Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the smaller pro-Agreement parties, Alliance, the PUP and Women's Coalition, are attending Thursday's talks.

But the anti-Agreement Democratic Unionist Party is staying away.

The talks are being held in the Members' Dining Room of Parliament Buildings at Stormont.

Following the collapse of power-sharing at Stormont, current legislation dictates that the British and Irish Governments must review the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement on which devolution was based.

But unless some common ground can be found between the parties on how to proceed, there is no mechanism for reinstating Northern Ireland's government.

Richard Haass said he detected potential for movement

Both the governments have stressed that there will be no renegotiation of the Agreement.

Speaking before the talks, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams welcomed the fact that all the parties were working together at a round-table meeting.

However, he added: "We want to warn the governments that this is not the time for passing the parcel, that the governments are party to this Agreement and indeed the outstanding matters, the vast majority of them, are the responsibility of the British government."

The Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, is not attending Thursday's talks because he has an engagement in London which he said he could not break.

In his absence, Sir Reg Empey and Michael McGimpsey will put forward the UUP position.

Issues

Sir Reg said parties may raise a variety of issues at the talks.

However, he added: "The real reason we are here is because the IRA have brought this process to its knees by continuing their love affair with the gun and their physical force priority - other paramilitaries are doing likewise.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan said the talks should not be dominated by one single issue.

"By setting out all those issues and the ideas that the parties have about how to deal with those issues, let the parties also address all the confidence issues," he said.

Gerry Adams: "Talks will not have single-item agenda"

Alliance Party leader David Ford said the review provided the only real opportunity to put the institutions back into place before the May assembly election.

Speaking outside the talks at Stormont, Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley said the Good Friday Agreement was a failed process which could not work without his party's support.

"It seems to me a very strange thing that we have at the table today, in this building at talks presided over by the Irish Republic's minister as well as the British minister, IRA/Sinn Fein," he said.

On Wednesday, the pro-Agreement parties outlined their positions to the US administration's special adviser on Northern Ireland Richard Haass.

Their discussions followed meetings with Mr Murphy and Mr Cowen over the last few weeks.

Mr Haass said afterwards that he had detected a sense of possibility that the political impasse could be broken.

Among the issues which are important to Sinn Fein are further possible changes to policing.

Further changes to policing were promised in the Queen's speech last week, which set out the government's legislative programme.

A key demand of republicans is expected to be the inclusion of former republican prisoners on district partnership boards.

Speaking in the Irish parliament on Wednesday, Mr Ahern said he did not expect a breakthrough in Thursday's talks.