Fianna Fáil has sent a nine-page analysis setting out areas of common interest to the Green Party in an exchange of documents that took place between the two parties yesterday, The Irish Timeshas learned. Deaglán de Bréadún, Political Correspondent, reports.
The Greens have reciprocated with a position paper of their own and the two parties have also sent each other copies of their respective election manifestos. The two sets of documents were exchanged yesterday morning.
The Greens have already been consulting and taking soundings among their wider membership and this process will intensify over the weekend. There is heavy e-mail traffic between Green Party head office and the membership on the issues involved.
The Fianna Fáil position paper is based on an examination of the Green manifesto and is set out in the form of bullet-points.
Despite losing his seat in Cork South-Central, Green finance spokesman Dan Boyle is centrally involved in the contacts. No meeting between the two sides has been arranged as yet with a decision in this regard expected after the weekend.
In its own election manifesto, Fianna Fáil pledged to initiate a "Green Energy Revolution" with a variety of measures including greater use of alternative energy sources, establishing a new bio-fuel industry, promoting the purchase of environmentally-friendly cars, phasing out incandescent light bulbs, carbon off-setting of all official air travel and the establishment of a high-level commission to implement climate change strategy.
For their part, the Greens have indicated that in any coalition arrangement with another party they would be seeking key policy changes in the areas of climate change, education and local government. These would include reform of planning laws, increased investment in public transport and schools and the creation of regional assemblies with significant local power.
In any negotiations, Fianna Fáil are likely to seek reassurance that the Greens would be stable coalition partners.
"Bertie Ahern wants to be looking forward rather than looking over his shoulder all the time," a well-placed Fianna Fáil source said, adding that stability was not a matter of arithmetic, it meant having the courage to withstand pressure from outside.
Acting leader of the Progressive Democrats and Minister for Health Mary Harney, seen as pivotal to any coalition arrangement, has taken a weekend break but will be re-engaging with political developments on her return.
Meanwhile, Terry McEniff, election agent for Fianna Fail TD Dr Jim McDaid, denied that the re-elected deputy had threatened to withdraw support for his party.
He claimed Dr McDaid was "quoted out of context", but added that the former minister had "a lot of objectives for Donegal North-East".
Acting in a personal capacity, trade union official Mike Jennings has contacted the Green Party and Independent TDs Tony Gregory and Finian McGrath, urging them to oppose the re-appointment of Mary Harney as Minister for Health because, he claimed, she was promoting a "private two-tier model" for the health service. He said supporting Ms Harney "could destroy them politically".
Meanwhile a Fine Gael spokesman said efforts to assemble an alternative coalition partnership were continuing.