Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris have held a “constructive, positive” meeting on government formation, the two parties have said.
A joint statement on Monday afternoon confirmed that Taoiseach Mr Harris and Tánaiste Mr Martin have asked their respective negotiating teams to begin talks around putting together the Republic’s next coalition administration.
“The two party leaders met today and had a positive, constructive engagement,” the statement said.
“The Taoiseach and Tánaiste agreed the need for a stable government, underpinned by mutual respect and clear policy direction, for the next five years, so that it can deliver for the Irish people in the face of great challenges.
“The two party leaders have now asked their negotiating teams to commence talks tomorrow.”
Fianna Fáil was the clear winner of last month’s general election, securing 48 of the Dáil Parliament’s 174 seats, while Sinn Féin took 39 and Fine Gael won 38.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael headed up the last coalition and are expected to continue that partnership into the next mandate.
However, with a combined 86 seats, they are just short of the 88 required for a majority in the Dáil.
If they wish to return to government together, they would need one smaller party as a junior partner, or a handful of independents.
Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have ruled out doing business with Sinn Féin.
The centre-left Social Democrats and Labour Party are seen as the only two realistic options if the two larger parties seek to convince a smaller party to join the coalition.
When Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael entered coalition for the first time after the last general election in 2020, there was only a three-seat difference in their relative strength.
That resulted in an equal partnership at the head of the coalition, with the Green Party as the junior partner. The two main parties swapped the role of taoiseach half-way through the term.
With Fianna Fáil’s lead over Fine Gael having grown to 10 seats following this election, focus has turned to the future of the rotating taoiseach arrangement and whether it will operate again in the next mandate and, if so, on what basis.
There are similar questions around the distribution of ministries and other roles.
While Mr Martin has so far refused to be drawn on the specifics, he has suggested that he expects Fianna Fáil’s greater strength of numbers to be reflected in the new administration.
However, Mr Harris has insisted that Fine Gael’s mandate cannot be taken for granted when it comes to government formation.
