Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael must back Murphy as Ceann Comhairle to secure independents deal

Tipperary North TD Michael Lowry urged the leaders of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to back Ms Murphy.

“Her nomination marks a significant milestone in the political landscape and will further reflect the necessity for inclusivity and diversity in Dáil Éireann,” a spokesperson for the group said.

The Wexford TD would be the first woman to hold the powerful position, if elected by secret ballot when the Dáil returns next Wednesday.

Mr Lowry is to lead the early engagement between the Regional Group and the two main parties, with the Tipperary TD to meet with both Fianna Fáil’s Jack Chambers and Fine Gael’s Helen McEntee early next week.

Following this, it is expected that the Regional Group will formally appoint negotiators.

Soc Dems may continue talks 

Meanwhile, the Social Democrats are set to decide before the end of the week whether or not to continue with government formation talks.

Senior members of the Social Democrats met with both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste at Government Buildings yesterday evening, with deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan describing the meetings as having a “good level of engagement”.

Mr O’Callaghan said that he would be updating the Social Democrats parliamentary party today, before any decision is made on whether to continue negotiations.

“There could be further engagement after tomorrow,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

There were “detailed discussions” on issues around climate, housing, childcare, healthcare, and disability, Mr O’Callaghan said.

There was “some interest” in the party’s red line on having a standalone senior minister for disabilities, and it wasn’t “rejected outright”, he said.

Mr O’Callaghan said the most challenging discussion was around climate — with the party having called for a revised climate action plan during the election campaign. Mr O’Callaghan said: 

Probably the most challenging area in terms of discussions we’ve had so far was in terms of climate, but there’s challenges in other areas as well.

In a statement following their meeting, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said he was “grateful” to have sat down with the Social Democrats to discuss policy.

“I look forward to hearing from them in the coming days,” he said.

While these early talks took place with the Social Democrats, negotiators from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil held their first full day of talks yesterday.

A joint statement from the two parties said they had a “positive and constructive initial discussion on the future programme for government”. The statement added: 

Both parties will continue to engage on issues over the coming days. 

It comes as neither Micheál Martin nor Simon Harris would set out who would become taoiseach first when a new government is formed.

Mr Harris said that he would not speculate, while Mr Martin said that he would respect the talks between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.