The Green Party has criticised its potential coalition partners Labour and Fine Gael for having a lack of policy positions in key areas.
Speaking during the parliamentary party's meeting in Dublin in advance of the return of the Dáil from its summer recess, party leader Trevor Sargent said the Green Party had detailed policy positions in relation to areas such as energy and transport, which he described as the main challenges facing the State.
The meeting was adjourned after a few hours because of the sudden death of party general secretary Dermot Hamilton, who had taken ill at home yesterday morning.
Earlier that morning Mr Sargent said that while his party was committed to removing Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats from government, other parties, with the exception of the Greens, had not put forward coherent policies to address the problems facing the State at present.
"We don't see the level of innovation or the necessary changes being spelt out," he said. "This country faces a combination. It faces huge challenges, which this Government is trying to deny, in terms of energy, climate change, transport.
"We're talking about building up local economies, building up the safety nets that are needed. We don't hear about that from the other parties. So regardless of who's going to be in government the Greens need to be in government for there to be real change."
Education spokesman Paul Gogarty also criticised Labour and Fine Gael for being "defunct in terms of [ education] policy".
"We've come out with more innovative thinking in the field of education than Fine Gael and Labour put together," he said.
Party chairman John Gormley used the occasion to address last week's attack on the party by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, who claimed the party was against the construction of motorways and in favour of imposing new taxes.
He described the Minister's comments as "an anti-Green rant" consisting of "fantasy and half truths".
"I believe it reveals a man that is deeply panicked about the future of the PDs and the fact that they are becoming less and less relevant. In fact, they have become indistinguishable from Fianna Fáil, and that's the real problem."
Mr Sargent led tributes yesterday evening to Mr Hamilton (48) saying he had made an enormous contribution to the party as both a member and general secretary.
A member of the party since its inception in the early 1980s, he was appointed to the post in January.