Fianna Fáil:The gaps between Fianna Fáil and the Greens that resulted in a breakdown of government formation talks yesterday can be bridged, and Fianna Fáil is available for further discussions, Minister for Social Affairs Séamus Brennan said last night.
"We are very practical people and we have a mandate that we can't just tear up. It's incumbent on both sides if they want to move it on and I believe there is ground to bridge these gaps and we are available for discussion and I believe party leaders will be available, too."
Mr Brennan, who was one of the Fianna Fáil negotiators in the talks, said he thought both sides were "very close" to a deal and he was "somewhat surprised" they weren't able to conclude with one yesterday.
Asked if he still thought there was a chance of a Fianna Fáil/Green government, he said: "I do." He added he was sure that the leaders of both parties are "available to discuss the matter further" to see if they can assist in closing this gap.
He did not rule out there being contact between the two parties over the weekend. "I am sure there will be, yeah." He said there are gaps on issues such as climate change, environment and energy and "we are available now to see if we can close those gaps."
Mr Brennan said it doesn't matter who takes the initiative for any possible resumption of talks or who contacts who next.
"Both parties right throughout the whole process have been making compromises. We have and they have, too."
Forty two per cent of the public gave Fianna Fáil a mandate in the election that has to be respected and Mr Brennan stressed the party manifesto covered the areas of climate change and energy.
Both sides talked at length about these issues but had not been able to bridge the gap on climate change, transportation, education, local government and healthcare throughout the six days of discussions. But he said he felt progress could still be made on those issues.
Green Party negotiators were "cordial, courteous and at all times professional. We did our level best to close the gaps on those subjects and unfortunately it has not proved possible to do it at this time."
He said he had been in touch with the Taoiseach right throughout negotiations and he was fully informed of the movement and progress of the talks.