Social Democrats pressure Enda Kenny on political reform

The Social Democrats have told Taoiseach Enda Kenny they want to see a cross-party forum on political reform agreed before the Dáil holds its vote on who will be the new taoiseach.

The three Social Democrat co-leaders - Róisín Shortall, Catherine Murphy and Stephen Donnelly - met Mr Kenny on Tuesday morning as efforts continued to form a government.

Mr Kenny, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams will put themselves forward as candidates to be taoiseach when the 32nd Dáil meets on Thursday.

Mr Martin and Mr Kenny have been meeting Independents and smaller parties in an attempt to muster support for their candidacies, although both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael acknowledge that neither is likely to win the Dáil vote.

Constructive meeting

In a statement, the Social Democrats said it had a constructive meeting with Mr Kenny in which a number of issues were discussed.

“We agreed to meet the Taoiseach, at his request, with a view to us putting forward our proposals so that we might fundamentally change the way the Dáil does business,” the statement said.

“We wanted to explore solutions to other critical issues including both the housing and health crisis.”

The party said it made clear that although Dáil reform is being widely discussed, there are “significant crises affecting people’s lives on a daily basis and they must be addressed urgently”.

They added that an all-party forum on political reform should be agreed before the election of a taoiseach.

‘More collaborative approach’

“We suggested the potential for a more collaborative approach to tackling the big issues such as health and housing. This would entail evidence-based solutions to resolving these pressing issues with cross-party involvement in setting priorities.”

Meanwhile, the Green Party has called for a series of Dáil debates on issues such as housing, healthcare, political reform and others before any new government is formed.

"Rather than shutting up shop while the necessary negotiations on a new government take place, we believe the Dáil should continue to sit," party leader Eamon Ryan said.

“We, as TDs, might not be able to agree on who should be the next taoiseach, but we can all agree that there are crises going on in housing, healthcare and political reform, among others, that need urgent action - we need the political situation resolved as soon as practicably possible.

“We propose that the Dáil Committee on Procedures and Privileges should be nominated as soon as the Dáil reconvenes, and tasked with reporting on Dáil reform as soon as possible.

“We’re calling for a series of debates to be held in the meantime, so the Dáil can agree a number of common responses to the crises that the country is facing.

“The principles agreed by the Dáil can then inform and facilitate the formation of a government.”