Martin calls for ‘cool heads’ ahead of talks

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has called for "space" and "cool heads" as negotiating teams from his party and Fine Gael prepare to begin substantive talks on the formation of a new government.

Mr Martin said yesterday Fianna Fáil was "committed" to taking a responsible role to ensure a minority government would have the support needed in the Dáil.

He said he and acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny would have “overseeing” roles while the negotiations were going on the parties’ respective teams would report on their progress to the party leaders.

Mr Martin was speaking in Newcastle, Co Tipperary, where he gave the keynote speech at the 93rd annual commemoration for Liam Lynch, one of the local IRA officers during the War of Independence.

He was welcomed to the area by local independent TD, Mattie McGrath, one of the “rural five” who have been engaged in discussions with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the formation of a new government.

Talks welcomed

The Fianna Fáil leader welcomed the initiation of the substantive talks process, as announced in tandem by the two largest parties on Saturday evening, on how a minority government could work.

“Democracy is changing, the nature of our parliamentary system is changing and I think we need to embrace that and that basically can be best reflected in the formation of a minority government,” he said.

He said he had made it clear in his Dáil speech last Wednesday, before “events subsequently overtook” that speech, “that we were prepared to support a Fine Gael-led minority government if they had the numbers in terms of the Independents’ preferences, but likewise that Fine Gael should equally offer that similar view that they would be prepared to support a Fianna Fáil-led minority government if the numbers fell in that direction”.

He said Dáil reform was “well under way” under the chairmanship of Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl, and predicted “significant change” in how the Dáil works.

“The Dáil will be much more in command of its destiny now than it would have been heretofore when governments of the day tended to rule every single item on the agenda and determine what happened in the Dáil,” he said.

Mattie McGrath, who was a Fianna Fáil TD before leaving the party during its coalition term with the Green Party, said it was “a pity” his former party had ruled out a partnership government with Fine Gael, but welcomed the beginning of talks between the two parties.

“Before we can support a minority government we have to have some idea about what the rules of engagement are – how many budgets will be passed and how will votes be held. It is not rocket science,” the Independent TD said.

“There are only a few core issues . . . It is really only about the budgets and the votes of confidence. No more than five core issues or so . . . We have the vote on Thursday. I will have to vote No for both of them if they haven’t come to an agreement. If they have come to an agreement and that is there, it will make it easy to vote for one or the other.”