THE Fianna Fail and Progressive Democrats leaders will meet on Monday evening to finalise the five year programme for government being prepared by their negotiating teams.
The document is understood to be almost completed, and the negotiators - Mr Dermot Ahern and Mr Noel Dempsey of Fianna Fail and Mr Bobby Molloy and Ms Liz O'Donnell of the Progressive Democrats - will meet again on Monday for a final discussion.
Mr Ahern and Ms Harney are expected to discuss next week the shareout of cabinet and junior ministerial posts. There is continuing speculation that the PDs, with four seats in the Dail, will be offered one cabinet seat, one or two ministries of state and possibly the chair of a prestigious Oireachtas committee.
The document is expected to be approved by the Fianna Fail parliamentary party and the Progressive Democrats general council later in the week.
No surprises are expected, according to sources in both parties, as most of it is being gathered from the Fianna Fail and PD manifestos. It will contain a five year programme of significant tax cuts, according to a Fianna Fail source and measures to deal with long term unemployment and social exclusion. The programme will contain a number of measures designed to deal with crime including increasing the number of gardai and prison places.