Five weeks have now passed since government formation talks officially kicked off, and while it might seem as though the process has been a sedate and sluggish affair, those working on the negotiating teams say it has been anything but that.
Across the different parties and groups – Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Regional Independent Group, the Healy-Raes – there are more than 20 negotiators who have been burning the midnight oil to get a deal over the line.
“It has been intense,” said one source. “There has been a huge amount of work done since the start of the year. The biggest task was getting through it all, through all the papers. We don’t need to have every single topic covered, but it’s important that we signal what our roadmap will be for the next five years.”
The source said the talks are now at a critical last stage, with “just a few final details to go through”.
“We are very much looking at a new government being formed now on January 22nd. There will be some debate on issues, but there is nothing to say, right now, that we can’t achieve that timetable.”
[ Coalition talks: Once a programme for government is agreed, what happens next?Opens in new window ]
A second member within the negotiating teams said they have attempted to keep the process very tight, with few leaks to the media on what is actually being discussed, argued or decided. There is still considerable anxiety inside those teams that a badly timed leak could derail the last five weeks of work, just as a new Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil/Independent government looks likely to be formed next week.
Leading the charge for Fianna Fáil is Minister for Finance Jack Chambers, who heads up the negotiating team. He has been joined, at different stages, by Darragh O’Brien, Norma Foley, Mary Butler, James Lawless and James Browne. Each of the negotiators fed into discussions and papers within their brief, whether that has been housing, health or justice.
Fine Gael’s deputy leader, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, has led her party’s negotiating team over the last number of weeks. Also on the team are Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe, Minister of State Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Minister of State Martin Heydon, John Cummins and John Paul O’Shea. One of their tasks throughout was to ensure there was as level a playing field as possible with Fianna Fáil, who won 10 more seats in last year’s general election and wanted this to be reflected.
In the Regional Independent Group (RIG), there has been controversy in recent days over the fact that Tipperary TD Michael Lowry is a key point of contact in the talks. TDs Marian Harkin and Seán Canney are also on the RIG negotiating team. Within the Healy-Rae camp, both brothers – Michael and Danny – have been engaged in talks with the other parties, with most discussions taking place in Government Buildings.
With a draft programme for government nearly ready, attention will also turn to the process that each party must go through to ratify the deal. In Fianna Fáil, there will be a parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday, and likely a special ardfheis this weekend.
In Fine Gael, there will be five regional events for members to attend and vote. The negotiators will give presentations and answer questions on the proposed deal. Voting will then take place at each meeting.
An electoral college voting system will apply. This means the total vote of the parliamentary party will count for 55 per cent, the members’ vote will count for 30 per cent and the vote of councillors will count for 15 per cent. All votes will then be counted in Fine Gael HQ.
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