A leading Sinn Fein politician has expressed his confidence that Northern Ireland's power sharing executive will be re-established after the November 26 election.

Party chairman Mitchel McLaughlin also called for the British and Irish governments to press ahead with implementing the agreement that Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has put "on hold".

Speaking at a press conference in Westminster, McLaughlin accepted that hopes of a pre-election deal "have ended for now".

Expressing anger and disappointment at the recent breakdown, he added that "a significant step forward" had still been made during talks between republicans and unionists.

"The problems that remain are political problems susceptible to political solutions," he said.

"There is enough pragmatism within unionism...to ensure an executive will re-emerge in future."

It was also revealed that Sinn Fein is in continuing talks with the Number 10 chief of staff, Jonathan Powell.

But McLaughlin was non-committal on whether there was scope for a deal on increased transparency of the IRA's decommissioning acts.

"In my view the IRA will take a lot of issues into account when they consider this issue," he said.

These included the need for "internal cohesion" and the attitude of loyalist paramilitaries.

Calling on the two governments to push the process forward, McLaughlin said that direct rule should not become a "soft option" for unionists resisting a return to power sharing.

Sinn Fein set out its plans for extension of cross-border cooperation in areas such as health and education.

It is also calling for new areas of cooperation covering community development, arts and heritage, economic cooperation and public investment.

Implementation of these plans "will have to be driven by the Irish government", said McLaughlin.

But he warned that the Dublin government had sometimes been "sidelined" by Number 10 during the peace process.

"That is not the role of an equal partner in the agreement," he warned.