In brief, though, this was a well attended occasion in which the party staked its round for the next election. It has decided its best option is to forge ahead with its committment to power sharing mounting a more full blooded justification of the decisions taken by Ian Paisley back in 2007.

Peter Robinson still maintained a fair degree of ambiguity over the timing of the transfer of justice powers, but London and Dublin are likely to take heart from the tone of his speech, in which he tried to portray his critics (especially Jim Allister) as "unionist cave dwellers".

Although the DUP leader said Stormont's future couldn't be guaranteed, he added that his party wouldn't walk away.

I shall have an interview with Mr Robinson on Inside Politics on BBC Radio Ulster tomorrow after the one o'clock news.

The party leader says that "once again unionism faces a choice in the next few years. Do we build on what we have achieved or risk throwing it all away chasing unrealisable goals?" And he continues "we have restored devolution on satisfactory terms, now is the time to take the next step forward".

So are we on the brink of transferring justice powers? Hold on to your horses, because the next step the First Minister appears to be referring to is reforming the Stormont system. After mounting a spirited defence of the DUP's decision to do a deal with Sinn Fein two years ago as "a choice between emotion and reason", the paper revisits Peter Robinson's Ulster Hall speech. It once again pushes weighted majority voting at the Assembly and how the workings of the Executive might be improved - the DUP reckons that has been the biggest structural difficulty at Stormont.

A section titled "the next steps forward" brings together the need to deliver better government with the devolution of policing and justice. It doesn't give much away noting "we have already agreed the institutional arrangements. Now it is necessary to resolve the financial issues and ensure the requisite community confidence exists."

Jim Allister has dismissed the pamphlet as "spin" arguing that "change will only come when the present unworkable charade is brought to its knees and that will not happen through working it, but through thwarting it by electoral rejection". However British and Irish officials may take heart from the fact that the DUP seems to be trying to sell the benefits of devolution at this sensitive stage.

Following swiftly on from the Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern's demand for a replay, the Strangford intervention will surely tip the balance with Sepp Blatter.

If FIFA don't respond maybe the Executive could take unilateral action, say, by refusing to host Olympic soccer in our new multi-sports stadium. Oh we did that already. Any other ideas?

The SDLP deputy leader disagreed with my analysis, predicting that, should the 2011 Assembly election produce such an outcome, the DUP and the UUP would get together and form one big party, thus ensuring a unionist became First Minister.

This prompted me to revise the precedents. In a recent fact sheet, the TUV leader Jim Allister has explained how the legal changes after St. Andrews put Sinn Fein in line for the First Minister's position. He rejects the DUP argument that the legislation did not faithfully reflect the St. Andrews Agreement.

So what about the possibility of a post election unionist pact? Some SDLP sources think this could be as easy as the formation of the group which now sees Alliance banding together with the greens and Dr. Kieran Deeny for Stormont purposes. But I am not so sure.

The McDonnell scenario reminded me of the UUP's attempt in 2006 to add the late PUP leader David Ervine to their numbers in order to boost their rank in the Assembly pecking order. The former speaker Eileen Bell eventually ruled against the move arguing that the definition of a Party given in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act should be taken into account.

In her words, those characteristics should be "a short, suitable name; a headquarters, or at least an address for the purpose of communication; officers of the party, including at least a leader, a treasurer and a contact person, called a "nominating officer", for the purpose of liaising with the Electoral Commission and others; a constitution; a scheme for financial support of the party; and an intention to contest elections."

She went on "in making a decision about any future list for publication, I shall require a party to have all those characteristics."

Some Stormont sources point out that in the crisis atmosphere which might accompany such an outcome to the 2011 election, all sorts of manouvreings may become possible. It is, for example, likely for realpolitik reasons that we might already be heading towards a wholesale renegotiation.

But as things stand the Ervine precedent seems to make a tactical unionist alliance simply in order to capture the First Minister's job a bit difficult, never mind all the other reasons why the DUP and the UUP might find it hard to cuddle up together.

On the post election timings, my reading is that the politicians would have about a fortnight to wrestle with the Assembly arithmetic. The clerk is due to convene a meeting of the new Assembly within eight days from the date of the 2011 poll, then the St. Andrews Act stipulates that the First Minister should be elected within seven days of the first sitting. This is one for the anoraks right now, but it could be taking up rather more of our time in May 2011.

The magazine ranks him below fellow northerners Gerry Adams (ranked 69), Seamus Heaney (47) and President Mary McAleese (34).

Essentially the Commissioner decided to put Dunmurry, along with Twinbrook and Poleglass, into Belfast City Council. But the minister wants it retained in Lisburn. Sinn Fein's Paul Butler has questioned whether the minister, who is also a Lisburn councillor, has a conflict of interests and is acting out of selfish political motives. But Mr Poots told me he had the backing of other parties in the area and is seeking to overturn a boundary which he is convinced makes no sense.

Certainly the only people who I talked to on the street in Dunmurry wanted to stay with Lisburn, perhaps because the rates there are lower. But some reckon there's a far bigger political fish being fried, with unionists concerned that an extra nationalist ward in Belfast might be just enough to upset the balance of the city and tip it into nationalist control.

Interestingly Paul Butler didn't entirely agree with the "Green Belfast" line, maintaining the row was far more local. However the implications could stretch well beyond Dunmurry with the future of the proposed reduction of the current 26 councils to just 11 on the line. And if we don't sort out who empties the dustbins in Dunmurry we could - if Edwin Poots leaked letter is to be believed - all be going to the polls for an early council election next year.

Now Mr Parsley's former leader, David Ford, has got himself into another e-mail mix up by sending a message meant for the Liberal Democrats to the SDLP. Mr Ford is staying mum about exactly what he said in his briefing note to Alastair Carmichael prior to the last Northern Ireland Questions, but Mark Durkan dropped a few hints about it during Tuesday's marathon justice debate.

Mr Durkan claimed the Alliance leader was already receiving confidential security briefings and, when told he had got his timetable wrong, he retorted that "we know the timetable of the e-mail to the Liberal Democrats in which he (Mr Ford) might not have said that it was time to be nice to Shaun Woodward, but he did say that Mr Woodward was trying to do the right thing in the current situation and that, perhaps, people should go easy on him."

Alliance sources have denied SDLP claims that the message showed they were soft pedalling their demands on a Shared Future, saying that what Mr Carmichael said in Northern Ireland questions demonstrated exactly the opposite.

Peter Robinson released a lengthy statement early this morning which sought to clarify the party position. Boiled down this is that "community confidence" is the only precondition, but the fate of the reserve is a "key element" in that confidence. Jeffrey Donaldson indicated that he is not necessarily insisting that the reserve is retained as an entity but wants those officers keen on staying to be subsumed as uniformed members of the PSNI.

Whilst this option sounds like an attractive compromise so far as the DUP is concerned Matt Baggott appeared to rule it out during his interviews earlier this week.

The problem for the DUP is that their critics have been rubbing their hands in glee. The TUV leader Jim Allister claims the different DUP statements show the party to be in complete disarray. Maybe because the job prospects of 300 flesh and blood reservists is more tangible than the finances of future court cases and other aspects of policing and justice, the danger will be that this controversy overshadows the apparently generous Gordon Brown budget offer.

No matter what happens in the weeks ahead, the last few days have already left an impression of ambiguity and clever word play which doesn't tend to go down well with the public.

Fair enough, Sir Reg may well be forced to backtrack. But do 16 - 24 year olds think being called a "vampire" is an insult or a compliment these days? I only ask because 1) I can remember being fairly nocturnal at that age and 2) last night on Radio 5 I listened to lots of teenagers screaming at the premiere of the new Twlight movie. Has the Ulster Unionist leader inadvertently tripped over the new teenage taste for vampire chic.

Outside the chamber, in the corridors and the canteen, the chat has all been about whether things could go - as Sinn Fein's Declan Kearney put it - into freefall. DUP politicians aren't happy that the Chief Constable has ruled out the wriggle room they were hoping for in relation to the future employment of individual members of the full time reserve.

Both republicans and unionists talk about the possibility of the transfer of powers not being agreed before Christmas and a breakdown leading to an early Assembly poll. One source even suggested that the knock on impact could be a failure to implement the planned restructuring of local government which might in turn lead to an early council election.

At the same time, you have to remember that before any of the big deals in the past there have always been peaks and troughs. Parties tend to throw shapes or talk up breakdowns as a way of putting pressure on others.

Sinn Fein are undoubtedly angry about the failure of the DUP to move forwards. An early election would give them a chance to give the SDLP a bloody nose at a time when SDLP activists are concentrating on who their future leader should be. It would also punish the DUP by handing the TUV a gilt edged opportunity.

But as the UUP's Alan McFarland predicted during tonight's debate, it's also likely to lead to a three way split in unionism and Martin McGuinness as First Minister. That might appear appealing to Sinn Fein, but they know unionists will probably refuse to play ball and demand a complete renegotiation of the system. Sinn Fein will have to calculate whether bringing that on is in their interests.

Either way the British and Irish governments are increasingly concerned about the failure to make more progress. Shaun Woodward's decision to urge church and business leaders to make their voices heard seemed curious - some leaders may heed his call, but if they do the DUP is likely to explain it away as an NIO organised intervention. Micheál Martin is at Stormont on Wednesday meeting the First and Deputy First. He will no doubt be joining the Secretary of State as a cheerleader for a breakthrough.

Later in the week many of the our ministers (with the exception of Margaret Ritchie who has picked the Assembly's Downpatrick roadshow over Jersey) will be off to the British Irish Council meeting, which is discussing minority languages. Last time I attended a BIC meeting in Jersey the hosts gave us all bags of Jersey potatoes as gifts (which I think were confiscated on our return). We all know devolution of justice is a hot potato, but has Stormont had its chips?

Many other motorists must have changed their ways too as the Albert Bridge Road and the route past Cromac Street was all but deserted. Fortunately I skidded past the hole at such speed that the BBC cameraman on the look out of congestion failed to capture any video of me for our Christmas tape. Nevertheless, my appearance in denim jeans with a hole in the knees caused much mirth at our morning news meeting and earned me a cameo role on Talkback.

I learned a couple of things from this episode.

1. Even with gravity on my side, I am not as fit as I used to be when I cycled to work every day back in the 1980s.

2. I now know Belfast is built on sleech, the sludgy estuarine deposits on the banks of the Lagan. So many Belfast buildings are propped up on timber piles, effectively built on sand. What a shame Stormont is on a hill, it really feels like it should be a sleechy place.

As a result the South Antrim roadshow has been postponed. The last thing the Assembly authorities wanted was a repeat of the debacle in east Belfast when MLAs didn't turn up for a roadshow as they were busy voting. Another roadshow is due to be held in Downpatrick on Thursday. Both Margaret Ritchie and Caitriona Ruane had been predicted to be on the panel, but now it appears that the Education Minister won't be able to attend. Was the timing, two days ahead of the new transfer tests, not to her liking?

(UPDATE: Since I wrote that last line the minister's officials have explained that she will be attending a British Irish council meeting, a dynamic organisation which last updated its website on 26th September 2008)

Over the weekend there was more fallout from Matt Baggott's decision to push ahead with the phasing out of the full time police reserve. Jim Allister called him a "political lackey".

Under pressure from the TUV leader, the DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson appeared to make the retention of the full time reserve a "deal breaker" during an interview with the Nolan show. However this afternoon on Stormont Live Mr Donaldson appeared to shift ground indicating that his party wanted the 150 or so members of the reserve who want to stay on to be found a berth in the PSNI. He suggested this was more important than the retention of the reserve per se.

No doubt the DUP's critics will portray this as a hasty U turn, but it looks like the avnue down which the problem might be resolved, although given the strict rules surrounding PSNI recruitment it's far from certain whether it can be achieved.

The fall out over the full time reserve (including a Friday evening during which the DUP appear to have been completely blind sided by the Chief Constable) contributed to the notion that we may soon be in "free fall". However the First and Deputy First are continuing to go about their business, meeting the SDLP today, an Assembly Committee tomorrow and probably the Prime Minister later this week. So on this level it doesn't feel as if we are in breakdown territory, heading for an early Stormont election.

Another fall out from the TUV conference has been Jim Allister's attack on the DUP for allegedly conniving in the rule change which will allow the biggest party at Stormont to automatically provide the First Minister. After St. Andrews, the rules were changed so that Ian Paisley did not have to stand for election as part of a team with Martin McGuinness. But whilst the reform spared a few Paisley blushes, it did not restrict candidacy for the First Minister's position to parties from the largest designation. If unionism splits three ways in a future Assembly election, the new rules mean that Sinn Fein is in pole position for the First Minister's job.

In response to Jim Allister's criticism, a DUP spokesman argued that "it was only at St Andrews that the possibility, for the first time, was raised of the First Minister automatically coming from the largest party from the largest designation, but that proposal was not faithfully implemented when Parliament passed the legislation which was intended to give effect to the St Andrews Agreement."

Which begs the question, what were the DUP's MPs doing whilst legislation which they now say didn't reflect St. Andrews went through the Commons?

The report emphasises the need to tackle homelessness at a very early stage, as those caught up in the cycle of poverty often fall into trouble in adolescence. 74% of the homeless people interviewed by the Salvation Army here had no relationship with their father. Around half reported neglect or abuse as children and more than a quarter were homeless before the age of 18.

Depressing stuff, although I was heartened to hear from the Council for the Homeless's Ricky Rowledge that a concerted drive by the authorities to tackle rough sleeping had produced dividends, which is one reason why the problem is not so evident on our streets as, say, in London.

Alcohol dependency, inevitably, is a big problem with 73% of those interviewed drinking. Whilst cannabis use in Belfast appeared slightly higher than in Dublin, other drugs like opiates and cocaine appeared less prevalent (although someone at the launch suggested to me that with fewer security checks here greater quantities of drugs are finding their way on to our streets).

Other issues raised during our panel discussion included the plight of migrants who may find themselves without a roof over heads but aren't eligible for benefits (which was recently highlighted in an Ethnic Minorities Council report, and the extent to which the "new" Northern Ireland has made little or no difference to disadvantaged young people (a point made by a recent Save The Children briefing.

Of course pleas for extra resources for the sector are likely to fall on deaf ears given the general economic downturn. Indeed the Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie acknowledged that tackling homelessness was "challenging at the best of times but especially difficult as budgets become tight". But whilst saving on this area may provide a short term gain, as the Salvation Army's research shows it only stores up the problems for future generations. Either way, with public sector cuts inevitable, it seems certain that the Sally Army's four local centres are going to be busy in the months and years to come.

The Reverend Norman Hamilton expressed the fear that "social justice" matters don't get much of a hearing at Stormont in comparison to big picture politics and justice. He has a point. But as we have seen in relation to this week's so called punishment attacks the two areas are not unconnected. If statutory and voluntary agencies don't find a way of reaching out to adolescents at risk of homelessness or involvement in anti-social behaviour, then paramilitary groups may seize upon them either as victims or recruits.

On a lighter note the launch was attended by both the SDLP Deputy Leader Alasdair mcDonnell and the Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie. The UUP's Basil McCrea (who was there alongside the DUP Minister Edwin Poots) joked that unlike the SDLP participants he wasn't involved in a leadership race, adding "not yet anyway". He quickly clarified that this was just a joke, so Sir Reg hasn't got to watch his back just yet.

My guest for this Sunday's Inside Politics will be Jim Allister, whose Traditional Unionists hold their conference this weekend. I assume after the party's apology for calling Irish a "leprechaun language" that his leader's speech will not be bilingual. You can catch Inside Politics as usual after the one o'clock news on BBC Radio Ulster this Sunday.