Counting of Green Party member votes for a proposed government pact with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have begun, with a yes result set to give the go-ahead for a new coalition or instead sink the deal if it is a no.

It has only taken 139 days, but now it looks as if we will get a government.

On May 11, talks to form a new coalition government began in the aftermath of the election on February 8, when no party received the 80 seats needed for a Dáil majority.

TDs from across the Dáil insist that they are not looking beyond this Friday for alternatives to the proposed programme for government, despite growing doubt that the Green Party membership will pass the deal.

The Spotlight star, and long time anti-fracking campaigner, urged members to support the programme for government, which would stop the import of fracked gas to Ireland.

Mary Lou McDonald will "pick up the phone" and engage with parties of the left, should the programme for government be rejected by either Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael or the Green Party.

A fresh general election cannot be ruled out if the proposed three-way coalition pact is rejected this week, Tánaiste Simon Coveney has warned.

The votes needed for the historic government coalition are expected to go right down to the wire in the Green Party. Rifts between members have further come to the spotlight in the days since the Programme for Government was released, with senior party members both publicly supporting and trashing the document.

TDs are to be offered direct access to the Government and potentially special treatment for their constituencies if they bolster the proposed three-way coalition.

Ms Martin also reiterated her concern that there are a number of Independent TDs who “have a different ethos” and are in conflict with the Green Party

Deputy Green leader Catherine Martin has pledged to maintain a “fighting” and “never-say-die” spirit if the Greens enter government as she called on members to back the coalition deal.

Green Party negotiators have peeled off some of the layers of secrecy around the crunch coalition talks with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, revealing key wins and losses.

Green Party members who are against the deal have an array of issues with the document. Those who have indicated that they are either on the fence or voting no said their biggest concerns come from three key areas.

Leinster House has been uncharacteristically sleepy in recent weeks.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe says that there has been "a lot of great work" done, but that agreement has not yet been reached as government talks looked set to go into Monday.

Eamon Ryan is no racist and is a decent, honourable politician who has been one of the foremost champions for social progress and inclusion over the past 20 years.

It’s understood Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party have agreed, that despite calls from some within the sector to increase fees in order to protect Irish universities, there will be no additional fees for irish students.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar got a hostile reception from Irish farmers last year when he announced he was cutting back on his meat eating partly out of concerns for the environment.

Leo Varadkar says he hopes that farmers and rural Ireland will be pleased with the upcoming programme for government.

There have been many false dawns in the three-way coalition talks and a plethora of crises that have inevitably not collapsed the rolling negotiations.

Green Party sources say that recent reports of a crisis within the talks are due to the two civil war parties "briefing media" against them in an effort to pile pressure on their TDs.

It is hard to ignore Eamon Ryan's sense of optimism and belief in a new world order.

Need for economic prudence

Targeted refunds for carbon taxes for fuel allowances and home retrofitting projects are among compromises being considered in the government formation negotiations.

The timeline to agree a coalition deal is slipping and there is a bottleneck of political discord building up in negotiations over the next government.

Fine Gael Minister: "I can't really talk about the Greens without trashing them"

Leo Varadkar, Micheál Martin and Eamon Ryan are to meet to try and overcome major obstacles encountered in talks between the parties seeking to form a government.

Nobody actively wants to go into coalition.

There are fears among some Green Party members that key areas in which they want to see "radical change", such as health and housing will be sacrificed due to concerns over the economy.

We've increasingly appreciated our public parks and green spaces. But, since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, open and accessible green spaces have been our life and sanity savers.

Former Green Party leader and Minister John Gormley was back in Leinster House today.

Her comments will only add to pressure on party leader Eamon Ryan who is now in a battle to retain control of his newly expanded party.

Catherine Martin is the quintessential, understated politician.

The Green Party have sent an email to all members urging them to unite behind the leader Eamon Ryan the day nominations opened for a leadership challenge.

A significant increase in public housing, protecting gains in the public health system and a major retrofitting home project are three of the key demands of the Green Party, Eamon Ryan has said.

The stark economic landscape for the next government has been laid bare for parties during government formation talks.

A marathon of government formation talks begins tomorrow, with all three parties keen both keep proceedings under wraps and navigate unrest at grassroots level.

Simon Coveney says the first job of any new government will be to build trust as there are challenges we have never faced before coming down the tracks

Sinn Féin says that "doors are still open" to other parties despite formal negotiations for government between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens kicking off this week.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned Fine Gael TDs about being “buoyed” up for any snap election and said his party would be in a “weak” position trying to justify one to the public.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has fired the starting gun on a Fine Gael vote for a new government and told other leaders the process could take two weeks.

The Green Party negotiating team may include some members who voted against entering into negotiations with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

The three leaders assessed the original framework document put forward by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over a possible coalition

As the first day of government formation talks kicks off between the leaders of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, the Greens membership are in a quandary.