Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil exchange confidence and supply files
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will provide each other with documents crucial to the confidence and supply talks today before a day-long meeting between the parties’ negotiating teams on Thursday.
Sources in both parties confirmed that the handover of files, which detail their views on the first two and a half years of the deal and how they believe the upcoming talks should move forward, will take place this afternoon.
After a fortnight of bickering in the immediate aftermath of the budget, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s four-strong TD negotiating teams formally met for the first time last Thursday to begin talks.
As part of the initial schedule, they have agreed to outline their positions on the first confidence and supply deal — which runs out when all budget legislation is passed — and what to do next tomorrow.
It is believed Fine Gael’s document will focus on the next steps and the need to ensure a two-year confidence and supply extension due to the threat of Brexit and the ongoing uncertainty in Irish politics. However, such a time period is unlikely to be accepted by Fianna Fáil, due in part to the fact that it would tie the party into a deal until 2020 that may damage its independence from the Government.
Similarly, Fianna Fáil’s document is expected to strongly focus on failures of the first two and a half years of the confidence and supply deal, with issues such as housing, health, and legislative backlogs set to take centre-stage. However, while Fianna Fáil is likely to indicate a one-year deal extension at most, Fine Gael has been clear it does not believe such a timespan would be acceptable.
Sources in both parties last night said the files will be examined in detail on Wednesday before a full day of talks on Thursday to decide on the next steps.
It is widely expected the parties will agree to at least a month of talks over the coming days, with a breakthrough hoped for in December.
