Party talks to intensify in bid to agree new coalition government

By Rebecca Black, PA

Political parties are set to intensify efforts in the week ahead to agree a new coalition government.

It comes amid speculation of disagreement between Fianna Fáil, which emerged on top in the general election, and former coalition partners Fine Gael over policy.

The Dáil is set to meet on December 18th. However, it is unclear if political talks will have agreed a new coalition government by then.

While Fianna Fáil was the clear winner of the recent poll – securing 48 of the 174 seats, ahead of Sinn Féin on 39 and Fine Gael on 38 – no party has secured enough seats to form a government by itself.

Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party formed the last coalition government.

Fianna Fáil TD and Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People Mary Butler said she understands her party leader and Tánaiste Micheál Martin is set to meet with Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach Simon Harris on Monday.

She told RTÉ’s The Week In Politics programme she is hoping for a “strong, stable and secure government”, adding she will be “quite happy to work with my Fine Gael colleagues again”.

She said: “I’ve worked with them for the last four-and-a-half years and we worked very, very well together, we delivered the majority of our programme for government.

“We’re just starting into the talks now, my understanding is that the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste are going to meet tomorrow.”

She said her party is very proud to have seen 48 TDs elected, but added: “The important thing is we enter these talks with an open mind, and we respect each other, and I have no doubt that what the people voted for was a strong effective government that will be able to withstand any of the shocks that might come our way in the time to come.”

Martin Heydon, a Fine Gael TD and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, reiterated Mr Harris’s position that the party “can’t be taken for granted” in terms of its manifesto pledges.

He said the work done now on agreeing policies between parties will be the “bedrock for how successful the next government will be”.

He added: “That’s what matters to Fine Gael, that’s our clear focus.”

He said Mr Harris is set to meet with the eight independent TDs and Labour leader on Monday.

“I’m sure he’ll talk to Fianna Fáil later in the week as well,” Mr Heydon added. “There was some informal discussion there last week, briefly between himself and the Tánaiste.”

He also reiterated that his party does not intend to form a government with Sinn Féin.

Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly said Fianna Fail “is in the driving seat”, and Mr Martin “seems hellbent and intent on putting Simon Harris back at the Cabinet table and bringing Fine Gael in as their junior partner”.

She added: “I wouldn’t downplay the numbers that the left have within the Dáil, you’re talking about 66 TDs elected – that is a very large bloc, that is a bloc that will make sure that their voices are heard.”

Meanwhile, Michael Collins of Independent Ireland said the group he has joined with the two Healy-Rae brothers and Paul Gogarty, have not received a call from anyone yet.

He said if they do not form part of a new coalition government, they will instead be a strong opposition.

When Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael entered coalition for the first time after the last general election in 2020, there was only a three-seat difference in their relative strength.

That resulted in an equal partnership at the head of the coalition, with the Green Party as the junior partner. The two main parties swapped the role of Taoiseach half-way through the term.

With Fianna Fáil’s lead over Fine Gael having grown to 10 seats following this election, focus has turned to the future of the rotating taoiseach arrangement and whether it will operate again in the next mandate and, if so, on what basis.

There are similar questions around the distribution of ministries and other roles.

While Mr Martin has so far refused to be drawn on the specifics, on Wednesday he did suggest he expects Fianna Fáil’s greater strength of numbers to be reflected in the new administration.

Labour and the Social Democrats held talks about the post-election landscape at Leinster House in Dublin on Friday.

The Labour Party had called for a centre-left platform to engage with the larger parties as part of talks to form a government.

However, Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan said they would be going it alone and plan to meet with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael next week.

The two larger parties, with a combined 86 seats, are just short of the 88 required for a majority.

If they wish to return to government together, they would need one smaller party as a junior partner or a handful of independents.