Three Independent TDs, two of whom supported Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats in the last Dáil, are receiving special treatment from the Government.
The three, Wicklow TD Ms Mildred Fox, Kerry South TD Mr Jackie Healy-Rae and Donegal North East TD Mr Niall Blaney, meet weekly with an official from the Taoiseach's Office.
However, Ms Fox last night rejected suggestions that the Government was heeding their concerns, as it did frequently between 1997 and 2002 when it depended upon their votes.
"If there was a difficulty in the last Dáil we would signal it during those meetings with the Government Chief Whip of the day and the official," she told The Irish Times.
Those meetings were hosted by the Government Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, and attended by Ms Fox, Mr Healy-Rae, Mr Blaney's uncle, Mr Harry Blaney, and Mr Tom Gildea, who then represented Donegal South West.
Since last May, the meetings have been held with the official, Mr Declan Ingoldsby. "It is a very informal thing. It is very rarely when the three of us would be there," she said .
The disclosure that weekly meetings are still being held, first reported by TG4, attracted considerable interest in Leinster House yesterday given the current tensions between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.
Senior Government figures were quick to play down the significance of the meetings, saying the opposition of the Independents to a number of issues was not taken onboard.
Asked if the meetings indicated that the Government has placed an each-way bet on its relationship with the Progressive Democrats, Ms Fox said: "Perhaps. I would have no problem talking to them. But I am not going to volunteer my services without being asked for them. I would really have to consult with my own people.
"It would be much more difficult to support this administration than the last one. They could have been more upfront to the people before the election took place." She said: "It is a courtesy thing, more than anything else," though she acknowledged a similar courtesy was not on offer to other Independents.
