Talks between Fianna Fáil and the Green Party on the possible formation of a new government have been suspended for the night.
The talks will now resume at 9.30am tomorrow. There is pressure on the Green Party to reach some agreement as it must put any proposals on entering government to its members at a special meeting in Dublin on Sunday.
Speaking as the delegates emerged from Government Buildings shortly after 8.30pm, the Green Party's Dan Boyle said:
"It seems we have agreed a lot and after five days it also seems we have agreed nothing."
Asked when he expected the talks to conclude, Mr Boyle added: "We did give today as a deadline. Certainly tomorrow morning is the furthest we can push this out in any conceivable sense."
Green Party chairman John Gormley earlier said the talks were facing "very significant difficulties".
Speaking following a short adjournment in the talks at Government Buildings, Mr Gormley said: "There are no guarantees we will reach an agreement. We have taken direction from our party members, and they are uppermost in our minds at the moment.
"It is going to be very difficult to reach an agreement."
Green Party chairman John Gormley, with party general secretary Donall Geoghegan (centre) and former TD Dan Boyle arriving for talks at Government Buildings today
On his way into the talks this morning, Mr Gormley said this was a "very important day" for the talks.
"There are outstanding issues which are of great importance to the Green Party, and we do want some resolution today," Mr Gormley said.
"I understand from the other side, from phone calls I've had, that they see the need to progress these issues."
He said the Green Party membership wanted to see a quick resolution to the talks. "The pressure is coming to get some movement because we can't go on talking for days," he said. "It's simply not tolerable."
However, Mr Gormley refused to be drawn on what issues remained unresolved, insisting he would maintain the public silence that has so far been adhered to by both sides.
The Greens want to agree a deal by this evening to allow time for a document to be prepared to present to the meeting of 800 Green Party delegates in Dublin's Mansion House this Sunday.
The talks broke for an hour this afternoon to allow Green Party negotiators to consult with party members on a number of matters.
Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey yesterday described the chances of a coalition deal between the parties as being "very, very possible". He said both parties were discussing a programme for government "department by department" and that the main aim of both parties was five years of stable government.
The Fianna Fáil negotiating team is led by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen and includes Mr Dempsey.
The Green Party delegation comprises Mr Gormley, former Cork South Central TD Dan Boyle and party's general secretary Dónall Geoghegan.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who still insists a Fine Gael-led administration is possible, said yesterday the Green Party needed to resolve the latest issues raised about the Taoiseach by the Mahon tribunal before going into government with Fianna Fáil.