Green Party primed to withdraw from government talks

The Green Party now looks set to withdraw from talks after a second long day of discussions with Fine Gael.

It comes as Independent TDs mounted pressure on Enda Kenny to open dialogue with Fianna Fáil.

Although the Green Party is due to rejoin the talks with Fine Gael which resume on the issue of climate change at 8.30am today, its negotiators are expected to speak with members later today to decide whether or not to progress.

During the second round of negotiations a number of the 17 Independent and Green Party TDs voiced their dissatisfaction that Fine Gael has yet to reach out to the other major party.

One Independent TD said the main issue most deputies wanted to discuss was when Mr Kenny would pick up the phone to Mr Martin.

“Contact has to be made. If Fianna Fáil won’t support a minority government then these talks are pointless,” one Independent TD said.

However, it is understood that Mr Kenny said that he would not be contacting Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin until he concludes talks with Independent TDs.

However, leaving the talks which went on until after 9pm one Independent TD said the discussions were “going nowhere”.

Health Minister Leo Varadkar said that it will be difficult to form a stable government without “some sort of arrangement” between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

It came after another long day of discussions with Independents and others in which a number of topics were discussed but no agreements made.

With the Independent Alliance, the Green Party and the grouping of five rural TDs still meeting with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, it is understood that negotiations on forming any government are likely to take weeks, if not months, and no deal will be reached by April 6 when the Dáil resumes.

Mr Varadkar said the talks between Fine Gael, the Green Party and a number of Independents were going “reasonably well”.

However, a number of Independent TDs who attended the meeting said progress had been sluggish and would continue at the same pace as ideas are put forward and policy thrashed out.

The meeting first dealt with a housing and homeless paper which took up much of last Thursday’s talks.

It then moved on to focus on jobs, agriculture and rural development, which a number of the Independent TDs including Michael Collins, Michael Fitzmaurice and the Healy-Rae brothers see as a priority issues.

Mental health was discussed but it was agreed that more work was needed on this.

One senior Fine Gael source said “a lot of ground” had been covered and it is understood a number of separate meetings will also take place today.