Talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil on the formation of a minority Government are underway this evening.
But it's unclear if there's enough time to strike a deal before the next vote for Taoiseach in the Dáil on Thursday.
With less than 72 hours before the thirty second Dáil tries to elect a Taoiseach for the third time teams from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are finally talking this evening.
They'll try to agree a framework of policies that could be implemented in Government by Fine Gael, with Fianna Fáil support.
The biggest hurdles are likely to be finding acceptable compromises on Irish Water and the Universal Social Charge.
But even before that the two teams will have to work out how a minority Government will actually work.
And there's an issue of trust between the two parties – so much so that public comment and even leaking of information during the talks is to be scaled back.
