The British minister responsible for Northern Ireland says Stormont is becoming "increasingly disfunctional" because of the relationships between the major parties.
Theresa Villiers says it's also important that the latest round of talks in Belfast conclude with a full agreement that all paramilitary organisations are dissolved.
She has suggested that the International Monitoring Commission may need to be reconvened to examine the potential existence of the IRA and, if it still exists, what military capabilities it retains.
She was speaking in the British House of Commons after new crisis talks, which were due to get underway yesterday, failed to materialise.
Sinn Féin says the talks cannot begin with preconditions, but the DUP says the matter of paramilitaries must be a key item for discussion.
Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this report.
