Fianna Fáil Deputy Leader Dara Calleary has said he does not expect the Green Party leadership contest to undermine any deal on government formation.

Talks are continuing this weekend with negotiators from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party aiming to reach a deal by Thursday.

Speaking to On The Record with Gavan Reilly this morning, Deputy Calleary said “a lot of progress” has been made in recent days – with the three party leaders due to meet this afternoon.

He said yesterday’s confirmation that his fellow negotiator Catherine Martin would be challenging Eamon Ryan for the Green Party leadership was not ideal – but said the government issue would be decided before that happens.

“[Deputy Martin] has been very engaged and very focused on the negotiations over the past four weeks and ultimately a programme for Government, if it is accepted by the members of the Green Party, that process will be finished before the leadership process gets underway,” he said.

“I presume whoever comes in as leader, if the Green Party members accept the programme for government, they will be bound by that that particular acceptance and they will have to implement it.”

Leader of the Green Party Eamon Ryan (left) with deputy leader Catherine Martin speaking to the media on the plinth at Leinster House. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Eamon Ryan is meeting with Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar this afternoon in a bid to find common ground on some of the main sticking points in the talks – namely the 7% carbon reduction and the pensions age.

Deputy Calleary said a deal had to be done by next week so that the new government can pass crucial legislation at the end of the month – including the renewal of the Special Criminal Court.

“We are very conscious of that deadline,” he said.

“That act has to be renewed by 29^th of June. It is a very important act in terms of the protecting the security of our country and it is as important now as when it was introduced."

File photos of Micheál Martin, Leo Varadkar and Eamon Ryan. Photos: Rollingnews.ie

He said the negotiators a facing “a lot of deadlines” but he is confident a deal can reached.

“This has gone on for four months now and it is time we brought it to a head and gave the country a solid government to move us into the next phase of this.

He said the deal won’t contain any surprises for the Fianna Fáil party membership when it is put to a vote on the coming weeks.

“We are not coming to any of these issues fresh,” he said. “The ins and outs of them have been discussed over the last number of weeks so it is not as if they are going to be cold or there are going to be surprises.”

He said he expected the party leaders to tackle the more sever blockages this afternoon before negotiators return to the table tomorrow.

“I think we can reach that deadline,” he said.

“There is going to be lot of hours; an awful lot of time spent in next 48 hours but there are no new issues that people haven’t had a view on coming up and I think we have made a lot of progress.

“Even in the areas that are not signed off on, there has been a lot of progress and I think we can get it over the line.”

You can listen back to the full interview here: