Draft Northern Ireland peace plan published online

Northern Ireland's political leaders have published a draft agreement on outstanding peace process issues only hours after Executive parties failed to reach consensus on the proposals.

The stalled blueprint for dealing with divisive problems around flags, parades and the legacy of the Troubles was drawn up by former US diplomat Richard Haass, who chaired a six-month five-party talks process that ended at 5am this morning without a settlement.

Democratic Unionist First Minister Peter Robinson and Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness put the document on the website of their joint office so people could assess the plans for themselves.

While Dr Haass did not meet his end-of-year deadline to achieve consensus on the long running disputes, his draft agreement could yet form the basis for a deal.

The two nationalist parties - Sinn Fein and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) - have signalled a willingness to back his proposals.

The DUP and Ulster Unionists have acknowledged progress has been made and have pledged to take the document back for consultation with their respective party executives, but both have expressed major concerns about details of the paper as it stands.

The cross-community Alliance Party said it would endorse the document's proposals on the past, but rejected the suggested resolutions on flags and parades in their current form.The parties are now set to establish a Stormont working group to try and finally reach an accommodation in 2014.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the failure to achieve a breakthrough was disappointing, but urged the parties to "keep going".

Former US diplomat Dr Richard Haass has urged the parties concerned to move forward where there is agreement:

Read more: Parties should 'maintain the momentum' of talks

The Haass process was set up in July to deal with what have become three of the primary obstacles to meaningful reconciliation in Northern Ireland:

• Tensions over contentious parades still regularly erupt into street violence.
• Disputes over the flying of flags - both on public buildings and in loyalist and republican neighbourhoods - also continue to be a source of community conflict.

• Arguably the most complex issue has been how Northern Ireland deals with the legacy of a 30-year-conflict where opposing sides retain competing narratives of what happened during the Troubles and victims still demand both truth and justice regarding thousands of unsolved murders.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said she was disappointed, but the failure to reach a comprehensive agreement should not be seen as the end of the road in seeking to find a way forward on difficult and divisive issues:

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said she was disappointed, but the failure to reach a comprehensive agreement should not be seen as the end of the road in seeking to find a way forward on difficult and divisive issues:

Read more - Adams: There does not appear to be an agreement

Former US diplomat Dr Richard Haass, who is mediating talks on contentious issues in Northern Ireland, said all the parties "support significant parts of the agreement" but "all have some concerns".

"The choice is not between the text and some ideal - rather it's the choice between going forward with an agreement of this sort that necessarily represents some compromise and the status quo.

We very much hope that the parties reflect on this, discuss it with their leadership and then come back with a strong endorsement".

Dr Haas said over the next week "we will know a lot more" and that he was confident the agreement "will garner considerable political support".

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said there does not appear to be an agreement on outstanding peace process issues in Northern Ireland after days of negotiations.

Talks between Stormont's five main political parties on flags, parades and dealing with the legacy of the Troubles continued into the early hours of this morning.

Speaking at press conference, Mr Adams said: "I'm sure there will be a lot of disappointment as various people come to terms with the fact that there doesn't appear at this point to be an agreement.

"This compromise is far short of what we were proposing, but we think that the vast majority of people will want to see it embraced and that's why we have taken up a positive attitude towards it."

Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said he is "still hopeful and determined" to deliver a deal on outstanding peace process issues.