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Leo Varadkar has said he will have to sideline some of his ministers who are prone to seeping into appointments to the next government.
It comes after Fine Gael’s criticism leaked to the Irish Examiner in which ministers said there was only a 50/50 chance of a government being formed with Fianna Fáil and the Greens.
Micheál Martin described the comments as unhelpful when the parties enter the program of government negotiations.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “Once again I have to apologize for some of my leaking ministers. I will try to make sure I have less leaking ministers next time if I have the opportunity to appoint ministers again.
“What happened is that the talks finally started between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens and they are still open to Labor and Social Democrats to join those talks and we are still keeping in touch with independents who might be willing to support new government “.
The Irish Examiner reported that talks had formally started between the parties yesterday, but that the probability of success in discussions aimed at forming a government was “less than 50:50” due to internal disputes within the Green Party.
Speaking about the meetings at Newstalk’s Pat Kenny program, Varadkar said any deal with Fianna Fáil would be based on equal partnership.
“He said:” We have agreed with Fianna Fail that any government we participate in will be an equal partnership.
“The key test for me and for the people of our party is whether we can devise a program for the government that is realistic for the country and that helps us overcome this aid crisis: make people go back to work, that companies reopen, and The economy buzzes again.
This is an unprecedented situation, both politically and in terms of the history of our country.
“There has always been an agreement at the end, and that agreement has always been ratified by the parties involved in the Dáil, but the things that we believed were always true until the last few weeks turned out to be different.
“If you go back over the history of our democracy, once the talks start, at least until now, there has always been an agreement at the end. Fine Gael has entered these conversations in good faith.
Previously, Micheál Martin said he does not know if a government can be formed by June.
The leader of Fianna Fáil would also not draw on who Taoiseach would be first.
He said: “I am not going there, I think my opinion is that, before we get there, we need to agree on a program for the government.”
In response to a question about the government’s response to Covid-19, Varadkar said the public was unlikely to be asked to wear masks consistently when outside the home, but it could be a possible requirement in closed spaces like the public transport or shops
Varadkar said the pandemic unemployment benefit and pay subsidy plan would continue beyond mid-June. While the schemes “cannot last forever,” withdrawing them would have to be done gradually.
“You would, since companies have the opportunity to reopen and people have the opportunity to get their jobs back. Note that you lose your payment if you don’t withdraw your job, if it is offered to you.
“In some cases, that may not come up until August, so it should extend beyond mid-June.”
The exact details of how the schemes will continue have not yet been resolved, he added, the government will clarify its plans before the end of May.
– additional reports from Vivienne Clarke
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