No specific agenda as Fianna Fáil heads into talks

Fianna Fáil is taking a much more relaxed attitude to talks than Fine Gael.

The party is due to hold a series of meetings today in an attempt to gain the support of Independents groupings and smaller parties.

However, unlike Fine Gael, which yesterday set out a template for discussions based around the areas of housing and rural issues, the party is taking a different tack and has not set down a specific agenda.

Instead a Fianna Fáil source said the team of four negotiators would be “answering their queries”.

Fianna Fáil has put together a 53-page document, broadly based around its pre-election manifesto which it has already put to Independents and others.

The party’s team negotiators, Michael McGrath, Jim O’Callaghan, Barry Cowen, and Charlie McConalogue are due to meet the group of five rural Independent TDs this morning, followed by the Independent Alliance, and are then expected to speak with the Green Party later.

A senior source said they would not be holding a round table discussion similar to the two which Fine Gael has organised with 17 other TDs.

“It’s unproductive to do it that way, the meetings go on for too long and we feel meeting groups that have already formed is more productive.

“Ultimately they are going to have to make a decision as to who they think has the best chances of forming a minority government.

“If people are looking for a new, reforming government and they are looking to change things, the best option is Micheál Martin,” said the senior Fianna Fáil member.

However, other parliamentary party members still believe that any minority government, whether led by Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, will not last. One party member said: “If you just think for a second about the external economic challenges that are out there and even the internal difficulties — the industrial relations climate is beginning to look very difficult because workers are looking to get back some of what they lost — the last type of government you would want to face down those issues would be a minority government.

“So I don’t see it lasting very long.”

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

But Willie O’Dea said he “had not heard a whisper” about Mr Martin making contact with Enda Kenny. The Limerick TD said the party is still battling hard to gain the support of as many Independents and others ahead of the next Dáil sitting on April 6.