The two parties were in contact on Wednesday to try to set a date.

It is understood Sinn Fein had proposed next Wednesday.

Republican sources said they were keen to make the talks an all-day affair.
This was with a view to further follow-up sessions of similar duration and intensity as the next scheduled Executive meeting of September 18 appears to now be a deadline for resolving the two sides' differences.

First Minister Peter Robinson has said there will consequences if republicans continue to block government meetings at that point. Sinn Fein has warned its ministers could walk away from the Executive.

The DUP was last night still trying to clear diary dates but expected that talks would happen next week.

The meeting was being arranged as relations between the parties became tense.

In the wake of Irish TD Caoimghin O'Caolain's threat that political institutions will be pulled down if the DUP does not agree to devolve policing and justice powers to Stormont, each party accused the other of dragging its feet on holding further negotiations.

MP Jeffrey Donaldson said Sinn Fein has been knocking back DUP requests for meetings over recent weeks, while at the same time publicly issuing threats to topple the government – because of a lack of haste in resolving the issues hounding devolution.

Despite Gerry Adams and others suggesting time is running out on the bid to settle a host of outstanding matters, Mr Donaldson revealed he has been seeking discussions with republicans for over a fortnight.

He said he had been told – despite the fact that devolution is at stake – there was no date available for talks until the second week of September.

And this would make it around a month between his request for a meeting and a meeting actually taking place.

But Sinn Fein MLA Caral Ni Cuilin responded by noting that her party had made the offer to meet the DUP next week.

"Sinn Fein, along with the DUP, committed to entering a process of intensive dialogue aimed at resolving outstanding issues, including the transfer of power on policing and justice, in Downing Street in early June," she said.

"This process has not materialised satisfactorily, partly because the DUP leader was absent on holidays for much of this period. Martin McGuinness was available throughout the summer to engage in this important work.

"It is our hope that now the DUP leader has returned from his holidays that he will bring the necessary focus to the DUP approach in order for the outstanding matters to be resolved satisfactorily."

Mr Donaldson said: "It is a matter of public record in the newspapers that the First Minister said that he would return from his holiday early to participate in an Executive meeting (if required).

"I will leave it to any neutral observer to decide who is willing to engage and who is not.

"The DUP stands, and has always stood, willing to engage on outstanding matters which must be resolved."

Meanwhile, DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said Sinn Fein's attempts to force their own way by issuing threats and running to Dublin and London will not work and were "ludicrous".

Mr Dodds said it was time for Sinn Fein to accept the political reality that the DUP has made no commitment to the devolution of policing and justice powers until such time as the unionist community was confident to allow the same to occur.

"The recent petulant behaviour of Sinn Fein raises serious questions about community confidence. Does Gerry Adams or his friend from the Republic (O'Caolain) seriously believe that threats to destabilise the transaction of Executive business will assist in boosting confidence in the unionist community? It is entirely counter productive," he said.