'Ridiculous' that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil not talking to each other
Both parties are set to outline Cabinet positions and commitments to local services in talks with rural TDs this week as efforts continue to win their support.
Acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny will tomorrow update the Dáil, as well as the Fine Gael parliamentary party, on talks to form a government but no result is expected until April 6, when a vote for Taoiseach will take place, or possibly even for weeks after that.
Senior figures in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil yesterday accepted negotiations were needed between the two-but stopped short of saying when or how talks would occur.
Talks between the two parties and Independent TDs, as well as smaller parties, are now entering a third week.
Fine Gael are understood to have offered a minister for rural affairs and agriculture in government, with Kerry’s Michael Healy-Rae or Roscommon-Galway’s Michael Fitzmaurice favourites to win the post.
Fine Gael want to form a cross-party coalition, similar to the 1948 inter-state party government, a senior party sources say.
Mr Healy-Rae yesterday indicated his support could go towards Fine Gael.
“Fine Gael seem to be more proactive about putting some deal together,” he told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics.
However, Mr Healy-Rae said it was “ridiculous” that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had still not put their heads together in any talks, given that some co-operation would be needed between the two, even for a minority government.
Fianna Fáil Meath East TD Thomas Byrne said talks with Independents so far had only been on policy matters. Smaller parties were going to have to make decisions, added Mr Byrne.
However, a leading member of a non-aligned group of rural TDs yesterday warned that no progress would be made on forming a government unless the two parties opened talks.
Roscommon-Galway TD Denis Naughten called for a type of ‘social partnership’ between TDs on all sides in the Dail. However, he also hinted that Independent TDs may not commit to supporting either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil unless the two spoke first.
“I believe this is irresponsible because the fact is that neither Fine Gael nor Fianna Fail can form a Government without at least the benign consent of the other,” he said. “Yet they expect individual TDs and smaller parties to sign up to a plan which will subsequently have to be negotiated on the whole, or on a case by case basis with the main opposition party.”
Acting Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe yesterday conceded to RTÉ that talks with Fianna Fáil would be have to proceed at some point, while Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher also refused to rule out his party supporting a Fine Gael-minority government.
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