The review of the Good Friday Agreement has begun, in a bid to restart the Ulster peace process.

Ministers hope the problems which have prevented the restoration of devolved government can be overcome in order to allow the Stormont assembly to resume sitting within months.

But the governments in both London and Dublin are aware of the scale of the task ahead.

"I am going into this review with a pretty open mind and hopefully all parties will engage in the process, and that we can come out not only with a review of the Agreement, but hopefully too with the restoration of the institutions," said Northern Ireland secretary Paul Murphy.

Sinn Fein

Allegations that Sinn Fein is continuing to receive funds from paramilitary groups linked to organised crime have resulted in strong unionist condemnation.

The Irish justice minister Michael McDowell has claimed that Gerry Adams' party is continuing to receive cash from IRA racketeering.

The IRA’s failure to disarm is also a key obstacle to achieving a lasting settlement in the province.

Republicans, however, are pressing for acceleration on so-called normalisation issues before they will offer any further concessions.

Gerry Adams is refusing to join the Northern Ireland policing board in protest at the current stalemate.

He has also slammed the DUP over what he claims is its attempt to subvert the restoration of the Good Friday Agreement.

"The review was always envisaged to be taking place in a context where the institutions were up and running and the process was ongoing," he said.

Unionists

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble last week predicted the review would stall unless the link between political parties and paramilitarism was broken once and for all.

He predicted months of deadlock unless Sinn Fein secured final acts of completion on weapons from the IRA.

The Ulster Unionists have also criticised the DUP over its demand for a fundamental renegotiation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Senior UUP MLA Michael McGimpsey dismissed claims that a recent meeting between Ian Paisley and the Irish government had been "constructive".

"How can a meeting at which somebody stresses a viewpoint that is at complete at odds with your stated objective of re-negotiation be termed as constructive? The reality is that the DUP’s re-negotiation ploy is falling apart," he said.

"Effectively they have already conceded that there will be no re-negotiation. What they are about is making the agreement more effective."

SDLP

The SDLP meanwhile is calling on the British and Irish governments to produce a "detailed plan for delivering all the commitments in the Agreement and joint declaration".