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Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar said he hopes there may be a new government by June.
“The country really needs it,” he said on RTÉ’s Late Late Show.
“The current government works well, but it cannot go on like this forever. We are making decisions right now without a parliamentary mandate.”
Varadkar spoke after the Green Party held its third round of discussions on Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s proposals on government formation.
A Green Party spokesman said the ten TDs, two senators and two MEPs would resume talks over the weekend by teleconference.
The Greens are understood to be seeking further clarification on the two documents by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
There is still no date for a proposed meeting between the three party leaders: Eamon Ryan, Micheál Martin and Varadkar.
Varadkar said he was “very interested” in meeting the Green Party’s demand for a 7% annual target to reduce carbon emissions, adding that “we want to sit down with them and find out how that can be done.”
He also said he understands that there are many farmers and people in rural Ireland “who are anxious about what such climate action could mean for them and their businesses.” But he said it also presents an opportunity.
He said that in recent days he felt that the Green Party was “reaching a point where they would start talks” and said that “I hope they will.”
But he said it was highly unlikely that a government could be formed this month.
“Even if we agree to a Government Program, most parties, including mine, have to ratify it by membership,” he said.
When asked why she would not consider the coalition with Sinn Féin, she said that she had promised during the elections that she would not, and promised that she would only enter the coalition with Fianna Fáil as a last resort.
“So I am being true to my word. Sometimes, in politics, you have to keep your word again because of circumstances beyond your control. This is not one of those times,” Varadkar said.
Reporting to Paul Cunningham and Paul O’Flynn
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