Ahern to address both Houses

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He will meet Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street and both men will travel together to the Palace of Westminster.

The address will take place before an audience of 500 in the Royal Gallery room.

The Taoiseach's address comes at a time of transformed relations between Ireland and Britain, and a week after the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland.

The Taoiseach is expected to reflect on the shared history between Ireland and Britain and the range of partnerships between the two countries.

It is believed a significant part of his address will be devoted to the co-operation between the two governments in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Addressing the joint Houses is a major honour and has been previously bestowed on only 31 world leaders since 1939. The distinguished list includes Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and former US presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.

Mr Blair addressed the joint Houses of the Oireachtas (parliaments) in Dublin in November 1998, just months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

Other current and previous leaders who have addressed the Commons and Lords during past decades include former Israeli premier Shimon Peres, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega, former Russian leader Boris Yeltsin, outgoing French president Jacques Chirac and Australian premier John Howard.

Also on the list is Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachev and Charles de Gaulle of France.