Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has expressed his confidence that a deal can be reached between the coalition parties on a new programme for government.
Mr Martin said Fianna Fail and the Green Party would jointly make decisions on areas to prioritise while seeking a spending reduction of €4 billion, although he added all decisions would be in the context of “sustainable public finances”.
He said it was appropriate the programme be reviewed halfway through the Government’s term and added this had happening during the previous government.
"My view, is that if there ever was a time for the Green Party to be in Government it is now . . . . this is the energy security era; it is the era of climate change," he said on RTÉ's This Weekprogramme
Yesterday’s ratification of the Lisbon Treaty had demonstrated a capacity by voters to differentiate between “domestic political issues and the issue of Ireland and Ireland’s relationship with Europe,” he added.
The Yes side had not made explicit promises in relation to jobs but said suggested support for the treaty would be a contributing step to an “economic recovery”.
The Minister said his view was that had Lisbon been rejected a second time, it would have involved taking an unnecessary risk with the economy and may isolated the country at the edge of Europe.