Hardline Protestant cleric Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), announced the agreement at the end of his first face-to-face meeting with Gerry Adams, leader of the mainly Catholic Sinn Fein and his political foe for decades.

"Today we've agreed with Sinn Fein that this date will be Tuesday, May 8, 2007," Paisley, sitting next to Adams at the negotiating table, said. Adams said the agreement marked the start of "a new era of politics on this island."