Siptu general president Jack O'Connor said yesterday his members would "look askance" if the Labour Party refused on principle to enter into an agreement on government with Fianna Fáil if approached by the Taoiseach.
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, Mr O'Connor said he did not expect the Labour Party would be invited to negotiate on the formation of a government as there was already "ample space" to create a new administration.
"The only thing I am saying is that, if that were to come about, the people we represent here would look askance at people who would refuse to avail of the opportunity to both prevent the privatisation of the health service and rectify the ills and address the issues around investing in training and education, around investment in social and affordable housing and the gaping issues around labour standards," he said.
Mr O'Connor said he could understand if negotiations between Labour and Fianna Fáil did not succeed as a result of disagreements on key issues such as plans for the co-location of private hospitals on State land.
He confirmed he had made similar comments at a meeting of the Labour Party national executive committee last week.
There had not been a divisive discussion at the meeting on the issue, he said. The meeting had been quite harmonious and nobody had suggested that the party leadership had done anything other than perform very well in the election.
The Siptu president said he very much regretted that the Labour Party had allowed itself "to be defined in terms of whether it will stand with Fine Gael or on its own or with Fianna Fáil for that matter".
"I think that the question as to whether we enter into an agreement with any other party at any time should be secondary to the agenda that we are promoting in any particular election . . . that is what the focus should be on."
