Varadkar insists onus is on other parties to form government

Fine Gael and the Green Party met for several hours of policy discussions on Monday at Leinster House but Taoiseach Leo Varadkar again insisted that it was the responsibility of parties other than his to form a government.

Mr Varadkar said Opposition parties and Independents have “more than enough seats to form a government” and that Fine Gael’s potential participation in government should “really only come into play if they fail to form a left-led government or a government led by Fianna Fáil”.

However, Mr Varadkar answered the concerns of Fine Gael members who said Sinn Féin would benefit electorally from being in opposition.

In a video message to Fine Gael members on Facebook, he insisted that the “main party of opposition doesn’t always gain seats”.

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“I don’t think that we should make the mistake of thinking the result of the next election is predetermined,” he added. “Politics is anything but predictable.”

Neither the Green Party nor Fine Gael issued a statement after the talks, but sources said the talks, while preliminary, were serious and would move on to financial issues on Tuesday.

Fine Gael is expected to sit down with Fianna Fáil on Wednesday for a “policy exchange” in advance of the second meeting of the 33rd Dáil on Thursday.

No taoiseach vote

A second round of voting on the next taoiseach now seems unlikely to be held after Sinn Féin said on Monday night that it would not back having further votes on potential candidates, which had been sought by the Labour Party.

The Dáil business committee – which agrees the schedule of Dáil business – decided last week not to hold a vote on Thursday, but there had been widespread speculation in political circles that it would revisit that decision.

Sinn Féin is scheduled to meet with the Social Democrats on Tuesday morning and again on Thursday, while the Social Democrats and Greens are expected to have a full day of discussions on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet will meet at Government Buildings on Tuesday morning, when Ministers are expected to be briefed on the coronavirus and also the flooding affecting many parts of the State.

The Minister of State with responsibility for flooding, Kevin “Boxer” Moran – who lost his Dáil seat in last month’s general election, but remains in office until a new government is formed – is expected to tell his colleagues that 80 per cent of the flood relief investment programme is “under way or complete”.

Minister for Health Simon Harris is expected to tell his colleagues that Ireland remains in the “containment” phase regarding coronavirus, though it is acknowledged that more cases are likely to surface.

A Cabinet committee is to be set up to monitor the State’s response to the virus, while the HSE will be promised whatever resources it needs to tackle any outbreak. Ministers are also likely to approve a scaled-down programme of St Patrick’s Day visits, which will include a visit to Washington and New York by the Taoiseach next week.