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19th March 2016
11:51am GMT

“We’re not talking to Independents to run down the clock. We’re looking to find common ground, of which there’s plenty, to form a new rainbow government.
“It’s clear to us that Fianna Fáil is not serious about wanting to form a government and they have effectively rebuffed us, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to try to form a new government which will be the nearest thing to what the country voted for" a Fine Gael source told the newspaper.
It's believed that the issues of housing, health and spreading the economic recovery into rural areas are the main selling points for any potential alliance between Fine Gael and these Independents/ smaller parties. A rapprochement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil isn't off the cards though because the same report in The Irish Times has also stated that Fine Gael are still open to negotiations with Fianna Fáil on the issue of a coalition administration but the main area of contention, according to their Fianna Fáil sources, is that they'd like such a framework to only exist for a period of two years while Fine Gael are pushing for a five-year programme.Explore more on these topics: