The leaders of Ireland’s next coalition government have welcomed an agreement that will shape the country’s political landscape over the next five years.
The draft programme for government will be presented to the Fine Gael and Fianna Fail parliamentary parties on Wednesday afternoon.
It will then be the subject of approval by the party memberships over the coming days.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin (Cillian Sherlock/PA)
An Irish premier will then be nominated when the Irish parliament returns on January 22.
It is expected that Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin will take on this role.
The agreement comes following negotiations by teams from Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Regional Independent Group.
In a joint statement, Mr Martin and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said the focus was on a “strong and stable government to deliver continued progress on the economy, infrastructure, housing and public services over the coming years”.
The leaders said that if the document is agreed by both parties, they will work together with the Independent TDs to “deliver for families and tackle the challenges facing the country”.
It has also been confirmed that Regional Independent Group member Noel Grealish will take up the role as super junior minister in the Department of Agriculture, while Sean Canney will be the super junior minister at the Department of Transport.
Meanwhile, Longford-Westmeath TD Kevin “Boxer” Moran will take up a junior role in the Office of Public Works, while Sligo-Leitrim TD Marian Harkin will take a junior role in the Department of Higher Education.
Members of Regional Independent Group (left to right) Michael Lowry, Barry Heneghan and Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran at Leinster House in Dublin, after a deal was reached to form Ireland’s next government (Brian Lawless/PA)
Speaking on behalf of the Regional Independent Group, Michael Lowry said: “We’ve worked hard, we’ve put in a long stint, and we have got a result that is very satisfactory for us.
“Boxer will take up his position in the Office of Public Works. He’s very familiar with it. He did a fantastic job the last time he was in the Office of Public Works.
“For Boxer to lose his seat at the last election, to bounce back, command the respect and support of the people of his constituency and to come back here on his first week to be appointed to the Office of Public Works is a massive personal achievement.
“Marian Harkin is a long-serving member of the European Parliament. She’s recognised as a woman of exceptional ability and talent, very capable. She has a particular interest and has always shown an interest in the educational sector, particularly in adult education and in regional development.
“She’s very supportive and has been very much involved in delivering the Technological University of Sligo. So Marian’s position will be as Minister of State in the Department of Higher Education.
“No doubt she’ll do an excellent job.”
Earlier, it was confirmed that Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae will take a junior minister post in the next government.
Danny Healy-Rae and Michael Healy-Rae speak to the media outside Leinster House, Dublin, after it was confirmed that Michael will take up a junior role in the new government (Cate McCurry/PA)
The Kerry TD refused to say which department he will be in, adding it is a matter for the incoming taoiseach.
Mr Healy-Rae, who will take up a position in government for the first time, also declined to say if he had secured any deals for his constituency but that the people of Kerry will see the benefits of having the Healy-Rae brothers in government.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, he said that after many years in opposition, he and his brother Danny want to work in government to better their home county of Kerry.
Asked which department he will be in, Mr Healy-Rae said: “At the end of the day, the giving out of any positions, it’s obviously a matter for the incoming taoiseach, we will respect that role.
“It is fair to say that there is an arrangement in place where there will be a role at a department at a minister of state level for the Healy-Raes.
“It’s fair to say that that role will be going in my direction but as for what that’s going to be, that’s obviously for the direction of the incoming taoiseach.”
He also said he wants to see a “return of common sense” in government.
“What we would like most of all is that this government gets back to basics and gets back to the basic things that the people need, what the farmers need, what the tourism sector needs and all the different things that we’ve been highlighting,” he added.
“Whatever the issue is, we’re not slow to come out and we’ll be still doing that.
“We will try and make sure that common sense prevails, that’s the thing that is needed more so than anything else.”
He also praised his brother Danny for his negotiation skills over recent weeks.
“If President Trump is looking to get any able person to assist him in stopping the war in the Ukraine, he couldn’t carry a better person than Danny Healy-Rae with him,” he added.
“His negotiation skills over the last number of weeks are second to none.
“The work we have done, we are ensuring that government are taking on board the issues and the concerns that are County Kerry.
“Remember, if they are in County Kerry, they are reflected throughout the rest of the country.
“Those issues are taken on board at the heart of government. We are going to use our position, the two of us, in supporting the government and in supporting Kerry in what I would like to call a better and stronger way than what we might have been able to do in the past.”
The support of the Healy-Raes now brings the number of TDs backing the next government to 95 TDs.
A full draft programme for government is to be published later on Wednesday, following Fine Gael and Fianna Fail’s parliamentary party meetings.
The document took several weeks to compile following a lengthy negotiation process.
Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said every TD is equal as the new Irish coalition government is agreed (Brian Lawless/PA)
Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said every TD is equal as the new Irish coalition government is agreed.
Asked what the independents will get for supporting the new government, she said they will get to be participants in government.
“They’re going to have the opportunity to contribute through different ministries, to work in government departments on behalf of the people of Ireland,” she told RTE’s Morning Ireland.
“They’re going to have the opportunity to help shape policy, as they did over the last number of days and weeks, in relation to the programme for government, and they’re going to be there as part of the government to protect the state, protect the people of Ireland and implement the programme for government.”
She added: “Every single TD in the government parties has the same mandate to deliver for their constituents as TDs across the Dail do, but, specifically in the government, every TD is equal, there is no preferment, what is more important is delivery for the people of Ireland.”
Fianna Fail TD James Lawless described five weeks of “very intense, very rigorous engagement” in the lead-up to agreeing a coalition government involving four groups, saying it was “cordial but robust”.
He said the new government will have a “comfortable majority” of 95.