Housing and transport among issues left in 'horrendous' Government formation talks

Government formation talks between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and the Green Party have been described as “horrendous” by one TD.

Despite some quarters of the negotiating teams saying this week’s talks have been more “productive” than last week’s, another said they “have all been horrendous” and there is a number of issues left outstanding.

These final topics are likely to be the most contentious as they have been purposefully “parked” or left to be revisited in the latter days of the negotiations and could throw up stumbling blocks as ideological differences between the three parties come to the fore.

How to restart Ireland’s economy and tackle the oncoming €11bn hole in the country’s finances has been broadly debated, with Fianna Fáil and Green Party sources noting that recent public utterances by Tánaiste Simon Coveney and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, about prudence and “realism”, seem to be laying the groundwork for future austerity measures.

The issues of housing, transport, and agriculture and finalising the Project Ireland 2040 capital project plan are yet to be completed and are all likely to see heated debate, as the two Civil War parties hold starkly different views on these issues from the Greens.

One Green TD said the issue arises as Fine Gael is “pretty committed to their roads alright” in the 2040 plan, in which “apparently roads are locked in” and Fine Gael is not prepared to budge. The Green Party would like to see certain capital projects abandoned in favour of more cycling and walking infrastructure and funding for public transport.

Social protection has also been moved “to another day”, likely next week, and is not likely to strike a harmonious chord between the three. The Green Party has long been supportive of a universal basic income, but has not seen any support for it so far in the talks.

Another source said that there is “a bit of work to do” on social protection but all parties wanted to reach a consensus. However, there seems to be “no real appetite” for any exploration of universal basic income.It is not yet known what, if any, concessions will be made to the Greens in this area.

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