Jack Chambers and Helen McEntee led the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael teams, as the Regional Independent Group prepared to join the negotiations later in the week.
Meanwhile, the sidelined Social Democrats will meet today and are expected to confirm the party is no longer pursuing a pathway towards power. Close rivals in the Labour Party made that decision before Christmas.
Sidebar discussions are continuing, however, with the Healy-Rae brothers, Michael and Danny, in the expectation that the Kerry duo might also be signed up to support the new government, in addition to the seven-strong Regional Independents.
Brothers Michael (left) and Danny Healy-Rae. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA
An overall majority in the 34th Dáil will be 87, now that Regional Independent Verona Murphy has been elected Ceann Comhairle. Fianna Fáil (48) and Fine Gael (38) have 86 seats between them.
There were presentations on Climate and Transport yesterday, with the talks teams warned of the severe fines to be imposed if Ireland does not achieve its emissions reduction targets by 2030.
There will be a greater focus on public transport, in keeping with party manifesto commitments, but a determination to make it as sustainable as possible – with major investments in rail already announced.
Other topics for discussion this week are the thorny areas of Energy, Health and Justice, as well as the Housing portfolio.
The Regional Independents met yesterday to resume deliberations on a policy platform in anticipation of a formal invitation to enter government formation talks later this week.
Labour confirms the party will not enter government formation talks in Ireland
It said it intends to “negotiate and act as a cohesive group” with Michael Lowry, Seán Canney and Marian Harkin acting as main negotiators. The other members of the bloc include new Dublin Bay North TD Barry Heneghan, Galway West TD Noel Grealish, Longford-Westmeath TD Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran and Meath East TD Gillian Toole.
It is expected the incoming administration will seek to tackle hospital emergency department overcrowding through new commitments, while returning to new roads projects that were sidelined by the Green Party.
The new Dáil is due to meet for the first time in just over a fortnight, on Wednesday, January 22. Negotiators say it is still expected that a new taoiseach will be elected and a fresh Cabinet formed on that day.
The group Women for Election demonstrated outside Leinster House yesterday and demanded that the gender quota used at the November general election be applied to the next set of ministers, meaning that at least 40pc of Cabinet would be female. This would be a better representation of the society served, the group said.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Jack Chambers accepted that the next government would not have as much discretion on the spending of windfall tax revenues, after a bumper 18pc hike in corporate taxes last year.
With the threat of transatlantic tariffs it would be prudent to put away more of such surpluses, rather than spending the proceeds, in order to better protect the economy in the medium term, he said.
