A senior DUP member has said he believes any political deal in the new year will be a "lasting settlement" for Northern Ireland.
Nigel Dodds also said he accepted his party did not have a majority in the assembly, and so arrangements for a return to devolution should have the support of both unionists and nationalists.
Speaking in Coleraine on Friday, the north Belfast MP said a range of issues had to be addressed in the coming years.
Calling for a reduction in the number of assembly members, he said a new administration must "serve the community, not the politicians".
The number of government departments should also be cut, and Northern Ireland did not need the Civic Forum nor "elaborate but ineffective human rights and equality agendas".
"We do not need all-Ireland implementation bodies which serve no practical purpose or institutional north-south links which are purely politically driven," Mr Dodds added.
He said the DUP now spoke for the majority of unionists, but "equally, we must accept that we do not have a majority in the assembly".
"The only arrangements which will work are those which are supported by a majority of unionists and a majority of nationalists," he said.
"With those constraints in mind, let us get down to the job of creating agreed institutions."
He said the challenge in the new year would be to get a form of devolution which was "stable, accountable, efficient and effective".
"Unlike in 1998, I believe that any deal which is done in the new year will be a lasting settlement for Northern Ireland," he said.
"That should not come as a threat to anyone, but a realisation that it is time that the conflict came to an end and we can all focus on the everyday needs of the people who live here.
"Let the arguments in the future be over the level of the rates, the quality of our schools and the National Health Service.
"That path to a better future will not be a smooth one. Difficult choices will have to be faced by everyone; but there is no alternative."
