Incoming TDs to the 30 thDail are beginning the process of consultation on forming the next government today
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has not given up hope of forming a coalition but outgoing Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has all the options and is virtually certain to become head of government for a third time.
Mr Kenny's party and the Labour are believed to have already been in contact with independents Finian McGrath, Tony Gregory and Jackie Healy-Rae. Mr Ahern said he would consult with deputy Fianna Fáil leader and the party executive before making any such approaches.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has not given-up on taking power. Photograph: Eric Luke.
Mr Gregory told RTE radio that the commonly used terms of Fianna Fail "gene pool" TDs and "like-minded" TDs did not apply to him.
And he speculated that Mr Ahern was more interested in bringing Labour into power.
"I really that this reference to the PDs and independents is a bit of a smokescreen at this stage ... listening to the codes and the constant reference to stability - I've been listening to it from Mary Hanafin and from the Taoiseach in various interviews. What they're really talking about there is the Labour Party," Mr Gregory said.
Mr Ahern was first elected Taoiseach in 1997 forming a coalition with the Progressive Democrats, supported by independents. And he has publicly stated that such an arrangement is his preferred option again this time.
However, with his party on 78 seats and the PDs on 2, Mr Ahern will have to rely on left-wing deputies to make up the minimum 83 seats for a working majority.
But he has said stability would be at the forefront of his mind when deciding on who to invite into government. If Mr Ahern were to lose a by-election under this arrangement he could lose his majority, and he yesterday appeared to court the Greens.
He told RTÉ radio's This Week: "Of course, there are other alternatives. You know Fianna Fáil in recent years, I suppose like a lot of political parties of the world, has put in a huge amount of effort on environmental issues.
"We have our climate change strategy, we've our sustainable development, we've all that we've done on renewables. A big issue in our party for the last year in policy development has been around wind and wave power. So I think there are those who would look at the Greens."
Negotiations will take place over the next two and a half weeks to establish if such an arrangement is feasible by the time the Dáil meets on June 14th.
Green TDs met yesterday and decided to take soundings within their own party on how to proceed. "We want a responsible, stable and effective government and at this stage we are ruling nothing out," party leader Trevor Sargent said afterwards.
Later he appeared to reverse his pledge to step aside as leader if his party went into coalition with Fianna Fáil and his Dáil colleague, John Gormley, insisted that Mr Sargent would remain as leader if a deal was struck with Mr Ahern.
The third option would be Fianna Fáil and Labour, by far the most stable with 98 seats.
But such a move would be politically difficult for Labour leader Pat Rabbitte because he committed himself to removing Fianna Fáil from government and stated at the weekend his position had not changed.
Inviting Labour into government would also anger Fianna Fáil TDs as a number of ministerial positions would be lost to a party that set its face aggainst Fianna Fáil returning to power.
Labour TDs are due to meet on Wednesday before making a recommendation to the national executive the following day.
Entering government with Fianna Fáil could mean Mr Rabbitte would resign with Brendan Howlin, who opposed the pre-election pact with Fine Gael, best positioned to take the party into a coalition that would run the risk of doing irreparable damage to the party.
Mr Kenny meanwhile is due to seek discussions this week with all parties bar Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil.
His chances of forming a government are slim but there is precedent. In 1948 all parties came together to oust Eamon De Valera but Mr Kenny must convince the PDs and the independents to form a government, which with 84 TDs, would hold only the slimmest majority. And two of the five independents are former Fianna Fáil members.