Eoin Ó Broin admits Sinn Féin cannot form government without Fianna Fáil

Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin has said his party is unlikely to be able to form a government after Fianna Fáil  decided not to work with it.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has confirmed his party will consider working with any party except Sinn Féin, the same approach that has been adopted by Fine Gael.

This means the most likely scenario is a grand coalition or a new confidence and supply arrangement with Fianna Fáil leading the government.

Ó Broin told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that even if all of the left-leaning parties came together, they'd fall short of a majority in the Dáil.

He also said Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil's refusal to work with his party "smacks of arrogance" and "recklessness".

Micheál Martin said his party would not work with Sinn Féin after the vast majority expressed their opposition to the idea at a meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party.

Martin had been under pressure to engage with Sinn Féin on coalition talks but he said his party is united behind the opinion that no such talks will take place.

Fianna Fáil have 38 seats in the 33rd Dáil, Sinn Féin has 37 and Fine Gael has 35.

Such is the deadlock that even if two of the three main parties come together, they'd need the support of another party or independents to exceed 80 seats, meaning a majority in the Dáil.

When asked about the possibility of a long delay before a new government is formed, Ó Broin said: “I don’t think the public will tolerate this dragging on for weeks and weeks."

He added that the best way to deliver the "change" that people voted for was for "all parties to be responsible and talk to each other" instead of "threatening" another election.