Government negotiators clear the decks to find stable, common ground in 'crunch time' talks

We are now, as one TD said, in “crunch time” in government formation talks.

Many of the more complicated issues — housing, agriculture, and emissions — had been moved back to allow negotiations be held against a backdrop of cohesion and with the programme for government in shape to be completed. But with the so-called easier negotiations having taken place, there is still much work to be done, especially with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s “hard deadline” of the end of June now looming into view.