Race for power hots up as eyesore posters remain intact

MOVES to put together a Government coalition intensified last night as Fianna Fáil and the Greens formally began sounding each other out.

The parties exchanged policy papers and said they would use the bank holiday weekend to see if their was enough common ground to open intensive negotiations and try to cut a workable deal.

Green leaders said they would consult their members on the unfolding situation.

“The party is examining these policy position papers and we will make a decision in relation to the viability or otherwise of negotiations with Fianna Fáil over the weekend,” a spokesman said.

The six Green TDs would give Mr Ahern a majority in the Dáil, taking his support to 84, which would rise to 86 if the two remaining PD TDs joined such a coalition.

Meanwhile, the starting gun for elections to the Senate was fired last night as Dáil candidates were given a final warning to take down their campaign posters.

Nominations for the six university Seanad seats closed with a shake-up in the offing.

Lecturer Ivana Bacik was being tipped to take the third University of Dublin seat as Mary Henry stands down.

Senators David Norris and Shane Ross are running again alongside eight other nominees.

The three NUI seats will be contested by 24 candidates, including the three out-going senators Joe O’Toole, Brendan Ryan and Feargal Quinn.

Meanwhile, Dáil candidates were warned by local authorities they face a €125 fine for each election poster that has not been removed.

All such advertising should have been taken down by midnight last Thursday, but many remain in place.

A temporary extension has been put in place in many areas to allow for campaign helpers to use the bank holiday weekend to take them down.

However, demands have been made by some council officials for the poster tags to be colour coded in future so that it will be possible to identify which candidates have left them attached to lamp posts or fences.

The tags have been branded a safety hazard at eye level by some councils. Voting papers for the university Senate seats go out on Tuesday and have to be returned by July 24.