Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has called again for government formation talks to be suspended in light of the coronavirus crisis.
Talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are due to resume on Wednesday, with both parties due to exchange policy papers.
The Green Party met on Monday to discuss its approach to government formation talks, and afterwards again called for a national unity government.
Mr Ryan has said that the country is in the “midst of an acute crisis, the kind not seen before”.
“We are again calling on parties to suspend talks on forming a majority government and come together around a crisis national unity government. This would bring together all parties and Independents to form a cabinet split proportionately, and could be done in a way to minimise the disruption for departments dealing directly with the crisis.
“Around the country communities are standing up together to protect the vulnerable and make sure everyone has what they need. We need this co-operation amongst our leaders too.
“We must work together in an unprecedented way to tackle this unprecedented crisis. That is why we are calling for a cross-party unified approach to government to deal with the crisis.”
Mr Ryan said that an “all-of-government approach” was needed. “We can see from other countries that stopping the spread of the virus and rebuilding after will take many months and likely more than a year. Other countries have taken this step, and we believe that a crisis of this magnitude demands it.”
“There is a difficult road ahead of us, but we can get through it if we work together.”
Cold shoulder
Fianna Fáil previously rejected the suggestion of a national unity government, and Sinn Féin also gave the notion the cold shoulder.
Speaking on Monday about the ongoing efforts to form a coalition, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said other parties “still arrogantly dismiss Sinn Féin and still are wedded to the politics of exclusion”.
“I think that is a huge pity, and it certainly is not helping in the effort to form a stable government of change.”
On Sunday, the leader of Fianna Fáil Micheál Martin said government formation talks must be expedited as he suggested a coalition could be formed with Fine Gael even if the Green Party does not participate.
Mr Martin said the process of forming a government needed to accelerated in order to deal with “the kind of big decisions that have to be taken” in light of the coronavirus health crisis.
