There has been a mixed reaction to British and Irish proposals for restoring devolved government in Ulster.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams welcomed the statement that the assembly's "primary role is to elect a power-sharing government". 

"Over the coming days the Sinn Fein leadership will meet to discuss these proposals and our response to them," he added.

"It appears that the two governments are saying to the unionists and especially the DUP, that they have to decide if they are prepared to join the rest of us in moving forward in partnership through a power-sharing government.

"And if they do not do that the two governments are committed to moving ahead to implement all other elements of the Good Friday agreement.

"Nationalists and republicans will be sceptical about this commitment and it will be tested in the period ahead.

"Sinn Fein will also be seeking assurances from the two governments about the new joint government arrangements and the accelerated all-Ireland co-operation and action, that will replace the assembly if the DUP is not prepared to share power."

Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party argued that the assembly should meet ahead of the formation of any executive and consider a programme of work.

Paisley claimed that that statement meant the Irish Republic had been given a role in running Northern Ireland.

"This part of the UK is not really a part of the UK but is a part of the UK where a foreign government has more say over Northern Ireland than the people of Northern Ireland," he said.

And he also insisted that it was IRA terrorism and crime that was stopping a new power-sharing government being created.

"In any talks or negotiations our decisions will be based solely on our manifesto commitments and not on anyone's definition of our mandate," he added.

"The DUP will not be forced, rushed or bullied into accepting any level of IRA criminality.

"Currently there is no evidence that Sinn Fein/IRA will be any further advanced in giving up criminality in November."

Sean Farren, senior negotiator with the SDLP, warned that by setting a deadline for the restoration of devolved government, the governments could be playing into the hands of the DUP.

He warned that the outlook for Northern Ireland would be "very bleak indeed" if an agreement was not reached in time.

"There are certainly elements in the DUP that would prefer not to have devolved administration here," Farren told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.

"Direct rule has much greater attractions to them than working with Sinn Fein and therefore a deadline has that particular danger."

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary David Lidington backed the new initiative but warned that it will be some time before a full power-sharing administration can be formed.

"The greatest responsibility for progress now rests with the republican movement to end all criminal activities and to support the police," he said.

"Without both of these, we believe it would be unacceptable to have Sinn Fein ministers in government in a part of our country."

Liberal Democrat Northern Ireland spokesman Lembit Opik said: "The British and Irish governments have now set a very clear target for the reconstitution of the assembly.

"Far too often in recent years Northern Ireland has been subject to sticking-plaster solutions.

"If this latest effort to restore the assembly is to work, then the two governments must establish round-table negotiations involving all of the political parties.

"There can be no secret side deals. We've seen that in the past it doesn’t work when the two governments have made different deals with different parties."