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Negotiators from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party must participate in a fourth day of discussions on the formation of the government.
It is understood that today’s talks will return to the topic of justice, which was also discussed on Monday.
Last month, the Green Party said it required clarity from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael on 17 key points, before considering the possibility of holding formal talks on government formation.
One of the green demands was to end the existing direct provision system for asylum seekers and replace it with accommodation provided by approved housing agencies.
In response, Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin agreed to end direct provision and replace it with their own independent accommodation.
However, the two leaders also warned that this would take time.
Today, the three-party negotiators will sit down to discuss justice issues in the context of a government program and agreeing on a common position on direct provision will be a key objective.
Meanwhile, the Social Democrats last night refused to enter into discussions about the formation of the government.
Labor leader Alan Kelly said his party will wait to see the outcome of talks between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party before deciding whether or not to start government formation negotiations.
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Speaking ahead of today’s Dáil debate, Kelly predicted that “it will definitely” be necessary to legislate to ensure that the revised Leaving Cert has a legal position.
Announcing that the provision of child care for health workers will not continue, he condemned the government for its ineptitude asking: “Why did you proceed when everyone knew it would not work?”
He added that it is “time to deal with the insurance industry once and for all.”
Kelly warned that the success of the government’s roadmap to open the economy depends on a functioning insurance system and, after childcare, many other obstacles will follow.
Meanwhile, Social Democrats co-director Róisín Shortall said the party decided not to join the talks on disagreements with Fine Gael about the best way to finance equitable public services, including health, housing and childcare.
She said that the last Fine Gael government sought to privatize and reduce public services and, as a result, the response in recent weeks to the Covid-19 emergency “has exposed very serious weaknesses in the way we deliver public services.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Sarah McInerney, Rep. Shortall said that a two-tier system or privatized hospitals, child care centers, and nursing homes have made it more difficult to respond in this time of crisis.
Ms Shortall said that the Social Democrats analyzed in detail the framework document by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, which, according to her, has “worthy aspirations”.
However, she said that when her party asked how she intended to pay for improvements to public services, she was “very disappointed by the response we received.”
She said that in a time of economic and health crisis, a stimulus is needed for business and for people to return to work.
Congressman Shortall said that Social Democrats “do not make sense to invent numbers” or “details and advantages”, but are interested in implementing Social Democratic policies, particularly in relation to the way public services are provided.
She said that she wants to participate in a government that seeks to follow a Nordic model through which good quality public services are provided universally for all.
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