Health, housing, broadband to fore of new deal confidence and supply talks

Health, housing, and broadband are set to dominate three more days of talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil this week aimed at extending the life of the minority Government.

Both sides have indicated a willingness to meet today, tomorrow, and Thursday if required to make progress on a new confidence and supply deal.

With Fianna Fáil insisting that a full review of the three budgets between 2016 and 2018 take place first, sources last night indicated that the process could take weeks.

“There is an understanding that this cannot go on for months on end, but it is likely to take some time,” a source said.

There are no deadlines, no timelines being put on it, but both sides accept it can take months and months. But it is not a simple box-ticking exercise either.

The sides exchanged detailed papers last week and health dominated talks last Thursday, with further discussions relating to the management of the €17bn health budget likely today.

Among the issues to be raised in the talks are the commitments to tackling mental health issues, greater access to services for the disabled, improvements in primary care and the delivery of Slaintecare reforms.

It is understood the Fine Gael team — ministers Simon Coveney, Paschal Donohoe, and Regina Doherty, party chairman Martin Heydon, and the Taoiseach’s chief of staff, Brian Murphy — in their paper set out their defence of the deal and what has been achieved. In response, Fianna Fáil’s team — Dara Calleary, Michael McGrath, Charlie McConologue, and Lisa Chambers — highlighted the key areas where delivery has stalled or not happened at all.

While health has dominated so far, Fianna Fáil is likely to highlight housing and broadband when talks restart today. It is thought that keen attention will be paid to the audit of the tender process of the national broadband programme, requested by Mr Varadkar following the resignation last month of Communications Minister Denis Naughten.

The audit is set to be delivered to the Government within the next fortnight and such focus on that audit by official Patrick Smyth indicates the talks are likely to continue for several weeks.