Politics

The days of ‘majority rule’ are over, says FF negotiator

Fine Gael insists party election promises will be reflected in agreement

The Fianna Fail negotiating team of Barry Cowan, Jim O’Callaghan, Michael McGrath, Charlie McConalogue outside Trinity College Dublin Friday evening after talks with Fine Gael on forming a government concluded. Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times
The Fianna Fail negotiating team of Barry Cowan, Jim O’Callaghan, Michael McGrath, Charlie McConalogue outside Trinity College Dublin Friday evening after talks with Fine Gael on forming a government concluded. Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times
Fiach Kelly
Fri Apr 29 2016 - 20:10

The agreement reached between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to facilitate the election of Enda Kenny as Taoiseach next week should act as a blueprint for future minority governments, one of the negotiators of the deal has said.

Fianna Fáil finance spokesman Michael McGrath, speaking after the talks concluded in Trinity College Dublin Friday evening, also said the agreement would see his party leave its stamp on policy measures pursued in government by Fine Gael.

The most important policy issue facing the country was the housing crisis, he said.

The Fine Gael negotiating team of Simon Coveney, Leo Varadkar, Paschal Donohue and Frances Fitzgerald leaving Trinity College Dublin after talks with Fianna Fáil on forming a government concluded. Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times
The Fine Gael negotiating team of Simon Coveney, Leo Varadkar, Paschal Donohue and Frances Fitzgerald leaving Trinity College Dublin after talks with Fianna Fáil on forming a government concluded. Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times

He said the days of “majority rule” and of minorities being ignored were gone, and an era of new politics was being ushered in.

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“We have actually been talking to Fine Gael directly for less than three weeks, when you consider the history of both parties, the near-100 year history of our State,” the Cork South Central TD said.

“This is the first initiative of its kind. I think it will have been an achievement if we can get this over the line to have a document providing for the formation of a minority government underpinned by the main party of opposition.”

For Fine Gael, Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe said the party's voters and supporters would "absolutely" see the policies of Fine Gael's general election manifesto in the agreement.

“I am certain that those people who voted for us in the recent general election, the values of our party, the achievements and work of our party over the last number of years will not only be recognised but will be clear in the agreement,” Mr Donohoe said.

The Dublin Central TD said the work of the negotiating teams had concluded and would be referred to the party leaders.

Mr Donohoe said there was “relief” a deal had been reached, 63 days after the general election.

“Both negotiation teams have now concluded our work. We have an agreement across a variety of areas and what is now going to happen is intensive work will now continue in relation to the text of the agreement between both parties.

Asked if it was an historic agreement, Mr Donohoe said: “I’ll call it a historic agreement if and when it is concluded.”

Mr McGrath said the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party remained “on standby” for a meeting to ratify the deal in the coming days.

“It has been a tortuous and long and difficult at times process but I think that the formation of a minority government and the document that we can hopefully agree in the next few days can become a blueprint for future minority governments in this jurisdiction.”

When asked if Fianna Fáil’s election manifesto would be evident in the document, Mr McGrath said: “We are not entering government, unfortunately, but we are prepared in the national interest to facilitate the creation of a minority government and in return for that, then we do want our stamp as party to be on certain policy issues.”

“It will be clear that we have a very significant input into the overall policy direction. Most of them are at the level of policy principles but some of them do lend themselves by nature to detail.”