The Government has been coming under pressure from the four independent TDs who support it. This is because they fear a general election could mean the loss of multi-million pound projects promised for their constituencies.
Negotiations have been going on since the last Dail session, but little substantial progress was made until December. Much of the discussion consisted of the four TDs - Ms Mildred Fox, Mr Thomas Gildea, Mr Harry Blaney and Mr Jackie Healy-Rae - pressing for their projects to be given priority before an election.
According to Ms Fox, much of what she had been discussing was items from her original list, as well as some new projects for her Wicklow constituency.
She said they had had several meetings with the Taoiseach, the last one around the time of the Budget. She believed that since they began negotiating as a group in October the four deputies had been taken more seriously by the Government.
Mr Gildea, from Donegal South West, said there had been "a burst of activity" in the weeks before Christmas in relation to his own agreement. He received a commitment for u£2.5 million towards a swimming pool in Kilclooney, near Glenties.
He said the cost of the redevelopment of Killybegs Harbour, which was originally estimated at u£20 million and which the Government had agreed to fund, had "soared" and he had received a commitment for the extra funding necessary.
Mr Harry Blaney from Donegal North East said his own case "hadn't progressed very much" and certain items had been referred to the relevant Ministers.
One of Mr Blaney's main proposals is a 500-metre bridge across Mulroy Bay linking the Fanad and Rosguill peninsulas, which would cost just under £8 million to construct. The Government has agreed to pay for it, he said, and an environmental impact assessment is now to be carried out.
He has also been seeking a commitment to build a motorway from Dublin to Derry and on to Letterkenny. "We thought it would be in the National Plan. I won't know about it until I hear back, as I am expecting to, from the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey."
Mr Jackie Healy-Rae of Kerry South said he had made steady progress in his own negotiations. "Things are going along fine." Among his demands is a further £1 million for the Mallow to Killarney road.