A coalition deal with Fianna Fáil was still possible, Green Party chairman John Gormley said yesterday. In a lunchtime radio interview he said: "It depends on what the Taoiseach does today or tomorrow: will he pick up the phone?"
Speaking on RTÉ's This Weekprogramme, the Dublin South East TD said there had been "no contact between Bertie Ahern and Trevor Sargent" over the weekend.
"We are prepared to keep the door open to all parties," he said. But despite Sunday newspaper reports that a deal with Fianna Fáil was back on the cards, he said: "There has been no meeting over this weekend between Bertie Ahern and Trevor Sargent." But the Greens would be receptive to a call from the Taoiseach: "If he does ring, we have said we will listen."
Commenting on the breakdown in negotiations on Friday, he said: "We left on very amicable terms." He again stressed: "We will keep the door open, we will listen to what people have to say."
However, the agreement on offer from Fianna Fáil would not have been approved by the Green Party membership. "We felt that we couldn't sell it to our party members."
If there was to be any prospect of a deal before the Dáil resumed on Thursday, "we're going to have to get our skates on". This was "new, uncharted territory", Mr Gormley said, adding that, "we are going to have to move very quickly if a deal is to be completed".
Asked about the possibility of a deal being made after Thursday, with the Greens abstaining on the vote for taoiseach in the interim, he said: "It's a very interesting proposal but I'm not sure if it is something Fianna Fáil would entertain."
He added: "This would all have to be subject to negotiations or to some sort of talk, if we are to believe the newspapers, between the respective party leaders." What he described as "a sort of rapport" had developed between the two negotiating teams but "a deal has to be sold to our party members and that's the complicated part of this jigsaw".
Mr Gormley said: "I'm obviously very disappointed that we couldn't reach a deal." Regarding last week's talks, he said: "I would hate to think that that was six days of my life wasted." For the Greens to present a deal to their members which was rejected would be "the worst possible outcome" and "a debacle".
Interviewed on the same programme, Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said that "we are of course quite willing to engage with other political views in the exploration of what is possible post next Thursday".
Asked whether Sinn Féin would either support Bertie Ahern for taoiseach or abstain in the vote, he replied: "Our ardchomhairle met yesterday and we had a full day's review of the recent general election. At this point in time it still is too soon to make a final determination."
When he was asked whether Sinn Féin would oppose the nomination of Enda Kenny in the event that Mr Ahern failed to be elected taoiseach on Thursday, Mr Ó Caoláin said: "We have made no such determination. We are very open-minded as to what should happen. Our critical interests here are not the personalities or the particular bums on seats. Our real focus and interest as a party is on the programme for government that they will present." He said that "the one certainty" was that Sinn Féin would not support or facilitate the formation of a government with Mary Harney as minister for health.
He added: "We are available and willing to speak with all different opinion, including Enda Kenny and Fine Gael; we have ruled out absolutely nothing."
He continued: "If Enda Kenny is serious, for heaven's sake, let's put the question to him, why has he not contacted Sinn Féin, or is all this about Enda Kenny being an alternative a load of nonsense?"
Commenting afterwards, senior Fine Gael sources said an arrangement with Sinn Féin was "very unlikely".