Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said the issue of Irish Water must be addressed in advance of the formation of any government if it is to have a chance of surviving for any length of time.
Speaking in Co Cork, Mr Martin said he believed the chances of the current talks between his party and Fine Gael leading to a minority Fine Gael-led government were "very much 50/50" but that they had to be concluded within days if they were to be successful.
Asked in Carrragaline about how confident he was of a deal being done, Mr Martin said that “it would appear to me to be a very 50/50 situation at the moment” but he was keen to stress the positive atmosphere in which the talks were being held.
“So far there has been a willingness to keep channels open and to engage - I think the tone has been good. We are civil people in terms we are civil towards each other.”
Obviously there are political differences but sometimes you read in some articles there are bitter war of words - there are not,” he said.
He said he was fully aware nobody wanted another general election.
Mr Martin said talks such as the ones between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had a natural lifespan, particularly as the country was now 60 days on from the election and the public was expecting a conclusion .
“I think to be honest where we are now is the current phase of this and it needs to be resolved quickly because I think there is an issue of how long this can go in terms of the overall credibility of the system in the aftermath of the recent election,” he said.
Mr Martin dismissed a statement by Gerry Adams at his party's ardfheis at the weekend that Sinn Féin would be willing to talk to either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, saying the issue of forming a government had now moved on to a new phase.
“We have tried a number of scenarios and it’s been left to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independents to see whether a government can be formed and I think that’s where the real action is now and I think that’s where the focus has to be and everything else is just a distraction at this stage,” said Mr Martin.
Mr Martin said that he was not seeking to negotiate in public, but from looking at the election, it was clear a majority of deputies were elected on the basis of their opposition to Irish Water and water charges and that issue had to be addressed if any minority government is to have any chance of survival.
“We are not trying to hold anybody to ransom on this. We are just making the point cogently that if we don’t get the issue (Irish Water) dealt with comprehensively and decisively in advance of a government then that government gets undermined very quickly by the issue,” he said.
“If we can deal with it now, in advance of the formation of the government, then it would help give some sustainability to the government because, contrary to what some people are saying, we are not approaching it in a cynical way - we are up for making a minority government project work,” he said.
Asked what was to stop Fianna Fáil deciding to pull the plug on a minority Fine Gael led government at a time of its choosing, Mr Martin said an article by former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond highlighted how minority governments can be as dangerous for the opposition as for those in power.
Mr Salmond "had only a one-seat majority over the Scottish Labour Party in 2007 and then you had the Lib Dems and the Conservatives and it lasted four years".
“He pointed out that minority governments can be as treacherous for the opposition as they can be for the government, so in other words, there are obligations on political parties to play it fair and the public aren’t fools and can see if someone is cynically trying to bring it down at the first opportunity,” said Mr Martin.
