Government and Opposition parties will meet on Tuesday as part of a last-ditch effort to reach a compromise on an acrimonious row over Dáil speaking time.
Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Independents and Opposition parties traded proposals on Friday in an attempt to defuse the row but made no headway, as talks broke up without agreement and amid further recriminations.
The Opposition again accused the Government and Independent TDs supporting it of putting forward “fundamentally flawed” proposals.
These included a Government suggestion of a “hybrid group” whose members would have full speaking rights associated with the Opposition but who could support the Government on a “case-by-case basis”.
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This would seemingly run contrary to the Regional Independent Group’s commitment, as outlined by its de facto leader Michael Lowry, to support the Government “on good days and bad”.
The Opposition dismissed this proposal, putting forward an alternative proposal for a “government-aligned technical group” which would get the same rights as Government parties in terms of speaking time.
It comes amid simmering frustration among senior figures in Government – both at the Opposition, but also over how the Independents, including Mr Lowry, have handled the row.
One senior Government source said on Friday that Mr Lowry “can’t be riding two horses”, adding that “the patience in the big actors is running very thin on this”.
A Fianna Fáil Minister, speaking privately, said that some sort of resolution needed to be achieved, adding that [Mr Lowry] is “not worth dying in the ditch for”.
[ Opposition parties expect showdown over speaking rights rowOpens in new window ]
The Tánaiste, Simon Harris, is expected to meet his party’s TDs on Tuesday. The Dáil reform committee is also to reconvene at midday on the same day having “reflected over the weekend”, Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy said on Friday.
A spokesman for Government chief whip Mary Butler said the Coalition had proposed to allow for additional speaking time in the Dáil to address the Opposition’s demand that their speaking time would not be reduced, describing it as a “concession”.
He added: “The Government is disappointed that while negotiations and mediation were ongoing, the Opposition chose to dismiss the proposal, while the Government remains open to positive engagement.”
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Opposition party leaders wrote jointly to the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, saying the proposal was “entirely unacceptable” and an attempt “to manipulate speaking time to favour” the Regional Independent Group.
The letter was signed by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, Ivana Bacik of Labour, Cian O’Callaghan of the Social Democrats, Michael Collins of Independent Ireland, and Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit.
The Opposition have called on all party leaders, including Mr Martin and Mr Harris, to meet over the weekend in an effort to find a solution before the Dáil returns on Wednesday.
In a statement on Friday night, Ms Murphy, who has been attempting to broker a deal, said that a Dáil that can reach consensus is “ultimately better for democracy and becomes truly representative of the people’s wishes”.
“It is regrettable that no consensus or agreement could be reached today. As Ceann Comhairle I am committed to continuing with this process and to exhausting every possible outcome.”
It remains open to the Government to force through its preferred resolution on the Dáil reform committee, where it has a majority. However, such a move is likely to even further poison relations and could invite a repeat of disruptive scenes in the Dáil in January which derailed the first attempt to elect Mr Martin as Taoiseach.
Earlier, it transpired that legal advice commissioned by Fianna Fáil gave the opinion that Mr Lowry and other members of his group who are not ministers are entitled to speak as members of the Opposition.
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