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FIANNA FÁIL’S SEAT majority “has to be reflected” in the next government, party leader Micheál Martin told reporters outside Leinster House today.
Asked today whether he will be the first Taoiseach in any rotating arrangement with Fine Gael, Martin said the 48-seat bloc of Fianna Fáil needs to be recognised in the “configuration and composition” of the next coalition.
Speaking after a parliamentary party meeting, Martin also confirmed that Fianna Fáil has approached independent TDs who, he said, “clearly have a potential role” in the government formation negotiations.
He added, however, that it was too early to detail his preferred third partner.
It is now widely accepted that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will again form a government with a third party and both party leaders confirmed as much today.
As Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are yet to find their third partner, the finer details (such as ministerial appointments) are yet to be hammered out. It is expected that the party leaders will share Oifig an Taoisigh again, in a rotating taoiseach arrangement.
Speaking to The Journal before the general election, Martin said he wants to lead the next government. Asked today if he thinks that will be the case, he said: “I’m entering into the negotiations with respect to everybody else.
“I think Fianna Fáil has secured a very significant number of seats on this occasion. That has to be reflected ultimately in the configuration and the composition of policy and structure of government.”
Fine Gael, it is understood, are advocating for ‘parity of esteem’ – meaning both groups have equal say over major decisions, appointments and power despite Harris’ party having ten fewer seats than Martin’s.
Martin, who appointed outgoing finance minister Jack Chambers as his party’s negotiator, said he has made “initial contact” with Harris and will continue discussions further with him in Edinburgh, Scotland where they will attend an British-Irish Council meeting on Friday.
Centre-left parties, such as Labour and the Social Democrats, were tipped as Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s preferred third coalition partner ahead of the general election.
But Labour has since said it will not go into government without another party of “shared values” and some in the Social Democrats are understood cautious following the Green Party’s recent wipeout in the general election.
Martin said his recent meeting with some independent TDs was to “sum down” their perspective on engaging both parties in the context of government formation.
Speaking later this afternoon ahead of Fine Gael’s first parliamentary party meeting, Simon Harris said his party was “open to engaging” with independent TDs about forming a coalition alongside Fianna Fáil.
He said, however, that he would not “negotiate in front of microphones in the rain”, referring to the wet conditions during the press conference on the side of the road. Harris added that he is approaching the talks with a “open mind”.
“We need to approach this from a point of mutual respect, from a point of grounding those discussions, in policy, in deliverables, in reflecting what we heard from people across the country and what we set out in our manifestos,” he told reporters.
Separately, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald today confirmed that she would be meeting with the two centre-left groups to discuss the possibility of them remaining out of government to form a “cohesive opposition”.
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What’s the point in voting if its always going to be the same outcome. Brings to definition of madness to mind
@Marc Power: Because democracy allows you to vote for who you want and if they win good for you, if they don’t accept it, and push on . Politics isn’t a method of being happy or living a fruitful life.
@Marc Power: still, a huge step forward for us with real environmental concerns. Ironically, this election was a big positive for anyone with green ambitions & beliefs in climate change….. that so-called ‘green’ party were most definitely NOT aligned with my values & beliefs…that fantasy that TAXING people to within an inch of their lives was counter productive & irrational
@Marc Power: I’m completely lost on this. Did sinn féin not get more seats than fianna gael? Is the will of the voters to be ignored? Everyone is fed up.
@Marc Power:
Perhaps the outcome would be different if everyone who could vote, did?
We’ll never know I guess..
@lastfewchocices: most don’t seem to be fed up cause they did nt vote for change
@Marc Power: First time in my life I nearly didn’t. FFG are making a mockery of themselves and everything that went before them. This is evidenced by the fact that no government in history has ever consolidated power with such an abysmal record, and the fact that turnout was the lowest in a century.
If FFG had any interest in irish democracy, they become one party and end the charade.
@lastfewchocices: i seat more than fine Gael won’t change anything its who can form a Government that counts
@lastfewchocices: Well yes SF won’t enter government with either and vice versa, perhaps SF voters need to understand why their vote is being used to stay out of Government. Mary lou has already conceeded by saying she wants to build a ” cohesive opposition ” what is that, a coalition to stay out of Government.
I’m delighted btw.
@Louis Jacob: the register is estimated to have 500000 duplicates, dead people……and so on….ignore those and it would be 10.2% higher and that’s from the head of it…..our councils can’t seem to keep accurate records.
@Sheila McNulty: That’s a terrible effort. Who needs to get out more?
@lastfewchocices: Voters who opted for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael did not want a government with Sinn Féin. That was the majority in a democratic election. SF are a Northern Ireland party and have nothing to offer the South. The people who control SF are not the ones behind the mics.
@Paul O’Mahoney: I’d like to see a reliable source on that. Even the exit polls crowd said their numbers were askew because the turnout was so low.
@Louis Jacob: Back up your comments. On any statistics on health, standard of living and education this country is doing good. Spewing out misinformation on social media and name calling has failed SF. If they sorted out some of the problems in their home turf like housing, a big one in pollution and community relations they might be more welcome in the South.
@Vincent Alexander: Calm down ffs. It’s the comments section on the Journal. Everyone knows what the failings of this government have been. They admit them themselves. I’m giving my opinion on the FFG arrangement which I believe to be in very bad faith and detrimental to our democracy. Why don’t you answer to that and stop using words the words of the day like “spewing” and “misinformation”
@Vincent Alexander: And is tge north not on the island of Ireland? Was the north not abandoned in 1922 to the fate of a sectarian state? The very ones who throughout fight against the foreign forle leading to ethnic cleansing, a person who talks like that should read their history and how an international group monitoring the Good Friday Ageement have stated on numerous occasions that the army council is no more. Sure I suppose you could say that the Blue-Shirts are being led by the IRB who gave approval for the treaty in 1922. Maybe some people should get a clue befote making asinine claims.
@Marc Power: The void we are stuck in is this….The turnout for the election was about 60%. So 4 out of every 10 people didn’t vote. Almost gaureented all those 4 are young people. The grey vote will forever keep FF or FG or some hybrid of them in power. The grey vote are terrified of change and the youth are too busy on Tic Tok to be bothered. I’m not sure how long it will take to somehow change this but I think I’ll be long gone before that happens. I’ve 3 kids in the 20/30 bracket and fear for all of them.
@Jp Cleary: Ps…. that picture of MM and his little army of supporters with the big smiles says it all…
@Ulysses 31: democracy inaction more like
@Jp Cleary: those young people not voting are not as detatched as you might think . Interesting times
@Marc Power: Respect democracy,the people voted just not the way you wanted.
@Louis Jacob: So cause the election didn’t go the way you wanted,it’s a mockery. Why can’t you respect the will of the people,the person I voted for didn’t get in, but I’ll respect what the people of our great island voted.
@Vincent Alexander: imho knots you who needs to back up their comments.
You spewing utter drivel.
@Brian D’Arcy:
The North bottled it in 1916 and again in 1922.
Its the reason the north was hardly mentioned in the treaty by the anti treaty side who considered the oath more important. Then when civil war broke out the northern IRA marched South and fought in the PRO treaty side.
Blueshirts was founded by a Chief of Staff of the IRA, and former leader of the Armagh bragade of the IRA.
And as for the existence of the Army Council, I’d rather take the word of the Irish security services.
@Paul O’Mahoney:You’re wrong, yet again. ML and SF did not rule out going into government with anybody before this election. FFG did.
So I don’t know where you’re getting your opening statement from. You’re either ignorant or willfully ignorant of that fact.
@Marc Power: it’s the folk that chose not to vote that facilitate the status quo.
@Marc Power: Voting is a periodic reference to the people to find out what they want. That is all. If they want change, they will vote for change. If they don’t, or like the opposition less, they will vote for the status-quo.
Given that Ireland rates at 9th out of 176 in the UN Index of Human Developement, you can appreciate why the status quo is attractive to many people.
@Marc Power: PR-STV is the key.
@Julio’s Evil Twin: Not to vote is a democratic right too. Especially if one doesn’t find just one candidate on the list that represents them. It’s actually paramount not to vote if you don’t want your vote to spill over to criminals.
@Marc Power: they voted for a government were 40 homeless people died on the streets of Dublin this year .the Irish people are a cold heartless people it appears or else a nation or cowards
And more billions to be wated over the next 5 years get ready for more tax rises more work hours just to keep the bills paid nothing going to change ffg government again a 5 year shxte show on the way
@giles wolohan: so the alternative would not spend billions get real,Sinn Fein were going to spend spend & cut taxes property Tax etc
@Sheila McNulty: Yeah which would have cost billions and achieved little.
@giles wolohan: more tax? Income tax has been falling under current Government.
@giles wolohan: People can’t blame the greens then
The turkeys voted for Christmas again.
@087 bed: thank god there are still rugged individualists like yourself around. As for the ‘why bother voting’ brigade, ask Mick Barry down in cork. 35 more votes and he would have been elected.
@Alan: Forgot to laugh at Berry so, hahahaahaha
Fuel up 5 cents since election well done FFG voters
@Kevin O Brien: no problem
@Kevin O Brien: It’s to deter the opposition from making more petrol bombs
@Kevin O Brien: Good needs to go up more. Its to cheap
@Kevin O Brien: duty was cut by 20c during the cost of living crisis, it has been slowly restored since, and is no where near the €2 a litre it peaked at
A FFG+INDs government. Same as the govt from 2016. Which wasn’t popular either. How come INDs got less support this time, I thought they had a surge in support? They went from 19 INDs to 15.
@9QRixo8H: probably similar to how all that celebrity support & fanfare for Kamila Harris worked out in the States……. Remember how you used to do all the CRYING for “madame president” with hundreds of posts on any article US related………. You still crying????
@9QRixo8H: Votes went home after years on inertia some of the 15 were lucky to hang on….
@Kevvy: is pervert William back following me again with all his profiles? How’s your pervy conviction going?
@Kevvy kerrr: Talking about an Irish election. If America is all that interests you then move there to have Trump as your president.
Another 5 years of Typhoid Mary and foghorn Doherty shouting nonsense at the empty seats opposite for social media.
@H Woo: Mary Lou will be fired soon.
No ministry of Justice for McEntee. Love it.
Martin should not impose his personal bitterness on not talking to SF
The Justice Ministry
Jeez! Yada yada …
Enough already. It’s like as if anything will change.
A cold and honest look in the mirror is needed. Any kind of reset comes from within.
We are where we are
@offside again: you just commented here last night that you don’t even live here… France, wasn’t it?
@Kevvy kerrr: and ?
With the change to FF being the main party we have a chance of getting back to the previous surplus of housing under them.
@thomas molloy: Is housing the biggest problem? Certainly transport effects more people, healthcare too.
FF did not get a majority. They got the most seats which is not the same thing.
Poor Simon you .messed up
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