Tánaiste Simon Coveney has insisted there's still a deal to be done to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
The DUP has been blamed after efforts to reach a deal was delayed once again last night.
The UK's Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith said he was "deeply disappointed" that the party was the only one to hold out on a possible agreement.
He said the DUP was "a crucial part" of the new Stormont and urged the party to "move forward" to get power-sharing restored.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said he was sure a deal can be done before Christmas.
He told reporters: "We've made the judgement having spoken to all the parties today that everybody isn't quite there on that timeline with us - so if necessary we'll hold back and do this after Christmas.
"So if we get a change in approach from one party in particular... then we can still go for this before Christmas if that's what they want to do."
The DUP, meanwhile, insisted it was working to get the "right deal for a sustainable executive and a sustainable Assembly".
MLA Edwin Poots suggested: "I believe that we can do it, and they will have to work with us to achieve that.
"They will not do this by a one-sided deal."
Sinn Féin's chief negotiator Conor Murphy suggested the onus was on the DUP "to tell the public why they are now holding up the restoration of the Assembly".
The power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland collapsed in January 2017 and, despite an election shortly after that collapse, the Northern Ireland Assembly has remained suspended.
