Negotiating teams are set to ramp up talks to form a government next week with senior ministers, party managers and leaders all weighing into what could take a number of weeks to cobble together a new coalition.

Green TDs have accused other election candidates of “hijacking” their campaign issues as the party urges voters, both young and old, to give them their number ones on Friday.

With no prospect of a government being formed any time soon, yesterday marked the 50th day since the Dáil was dissolved and a general election called. It might not be too surprising if another 50 days were to pass before any deal is agreed to bridge the current political impasse.

Acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny will today lead a brainstorming session with senior Fine Gael figures and 17 TDs from Independent and smaller political groups in the first multilateral talks to form a government.

Caretaker taoiseach Enda Kenny will try to freeze out Fianna Fáil by cutting deals with 22 opposition TDs and convincing Labour to abstain from the April 6 taoiseach nomination vote.

Alison O’Connor (Irish Examiner, Jan 8) tells how the cuddly Greens make a nice, harmless, side salad political option, but do they?

TOMORROW, the Green Party celebrates. At a gathering in the Central Hotel in Dublin, members will raise a glass to 30-years-a-growing.

THE Green Party launch their election campaign today calling for a ‘renewing’ of Ireland’.

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney has criticised the protesters who threw eggs and cheese at her car for failing to use reasoned debate and democratic methods to further their aims.

The Green Party is to decide this weekend whether Government should cancel the metro project in Dublin, while the party is also to debate a demand for the property loans of all Oireachtas members to be declared.

TÁNAISTE Mary Coughlan caused uproar in the Dáil yesterday when she accused the opposition of indulging in “political opportunism” over the Tallaght Hospital X-ray scandal.

TREVOR Sargent’s representations to the gardaí to drop a prosecution begs the question that if a squeaky clean TD can do that, what are less honourable TDs getting up to? Some applaud Sargent for going quickly and with dignity, unlike Willie O’Dea.

TREV’S dead. His ministerial career dispatched with a very public political honour killing.

ON the same day that they lost a minister, the Greens gained a senator.

Green Party leader John Gormley is likely to come under pressure today to state whether he has full confidence in Defense Minister Willie O'Dea.

WHEN the Green Party went into Government, they said they were in “transition”.

A RATTLED Green leadership last night moved to try and rubbish claims of spinelessness in its dealings with Fianna Fáil.

IT was a pyjama-nama drama as not a mouse stirred throughout Leinster House.

Agreement on a revised programme for government has been reached following eight days of negotiations between Fianna Fáil and the Green party.

GREEN leader John Gormley last night admitted the party grassroots would force an internal vote on NAMA that could derail Government plans to deal with the banking crisis.

GREEN leaders were last night confident of getting their membership to finally allow the party to campaign for a yes vote to Lisbon.

IN May 1940, when Britain had its back to the wall in World War II, Neville Chamberlain resigned as prime minister immediately after winning a vote of confidence in the House of Commons because he realised that the British people had lost their confidence in him and his policies.

The Green Party has denied fresh suggestions that it may withdraw from Government due to the controversy surrounding cuts announced in this month's Budget.

OLDER people have vowed to tear up forms for medical card means tests and not give a single vote to Fianna Fáil and the Green party in next year’s local and European elections.

A GREEN party attempt to criticise the Government for the medical card fiasco backfired last night when it admitted its own ministers bore some of the responsibility for the issue.

Green Party leader John Gormley has reiterated his confidence in the Mahon Tribunal.

THE Green Party last night insisted no laws had been broken when its TDs donated money to the party, but appeared to contradict its leader, John Gormley, when explaining itself.

THE Green Party was back in with a chance of getting into government last night after Fianna Fáil-initiated coalition talks began.

Political parties will begin final whistle-stop tours of marginal constituencies today in a bid to muster extra votes ahead of polling on Thursday.

AN INAUGURAL showing of Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth, took place at Dublin’s Screen Cinema last week.

A STINGING attack on Fianna Fáil’s past links to corruption set the tempo last night for the Green Party’s annual convention.

TDs were treated to free cups of coffee and tea outside the Dáil today as part of a campaign to turn Ireland into a ‘Fairtrade Nation’.

The Green Party has called on the Government to halt payments to TDs and Senators who are giving up their seats on local councils due to the end of the 'dual mandate'.

FOUR Green Party TDs chained themselves to trees in Dublin’s O’Connell Street yesterday afternoon in a last-ditch attempt to save landmark trees from the chop.