REPORTS: Fine Gael to offer Independents five-year deal to create a rainbow government

The deal would remain on the table even if Enda Kenny isn't Fine Gael leader or Taoiseach.

Reports have suggested that Enda Kenny is set to offer Independents and smaller parties a five-year deal, in an attempt to form a rainbow coalition government. It should be noted that any such move would still require the approval of Fianna Fáil though but The Irish Times believe that this proposal will soon be put before a special Fine Gael conference. If the Taoiseach is backed by his own party then the Green Party’s two TDs, members of the Independent Alliance and several other Independents should expect to be contacted with a view to creating a new government.

“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.