Clare’s Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil TDs insist that forming a stable Government must remain the priority, particularly in light of the public health emergency.
It comes as TDs and Senators from both parties will be briefed today on a historic coalition plan, which has been signed off on by their party leaders.
The parties will then look to strike an agreement with at least one smaller political grouping, but they’ll also need to get the agreement past their own members, which may not be straight-forward.
The Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil parliamentary parties will be briefed by teleconference this afternoon, on the agreed policy framework document.
It will then be shared out to other parties like the Greens, Social Democrats and Labour, after which talks will be held to agree a programme for government.
This would pave the way for a historic grand coalition, if both parties can garner enough support.
Both Leo Varadkar and Michael Martin have said they will need more than Independents to form a Government, and so far, none of the smaller parties have expressed interest in signing up to the grand coalition.
Clare’s Fianna Fáil TD, Cathal Crowe believes that in light of the current public health ermgency and the implications of it on the economy, a stable Govenremnt must be the priority.
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Clare’s Fine Gael TD says it’s in the best intersts of the country to move forward with the deal.
Joe Carey says a coalition involving the two war time parties provides the best potential for stability going forward, and he’s appealing to the smaller parties to play their part.
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Any agreement would also need the backing of the parties’ members, who would be asked to cast aside the traditional civil war divide.
That may prove too big an ask for some, however.
Killaloe Fianna Fáil Councillor Tony O’Brien said today that, at the moment, he’d vote against the deal.
