A senior Fianna Fáil TD has said it's "not sustainable" to have a caretaker government making key decisions about the State response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Michael McGrath says the outbreak has added "urgency" to the ongoing government formation efforts.
It was confirmed yesterday that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will begin "in-depth and detailed" talks on forming a new government.
Fine Gael had previously insisted it was preparing to go into opposition and would only enter government as a last resort.
However, Leo Varadkar yesterday said the Covid-19 situation has now made government formation "an imperative".
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Fianna Fáil finance spokesperson Michael McGrath - a member of the party's negotiating team - said it's very clear the scale and significance of the coronavirus outbreak is "enormous".
He said: "We need a functioning parliament whereby legislation can be introduced, debated and enacted - and that requires having a government in place.
"It is now time to intensify the efforts to see if a government can be put in place - not just to tackle the coronavirus, but the other issues as well."
Deputy McGrath said there's no guarantee the talks will lead to a government, but noted that the outbreak has "undoubtedly" added urgency to efforts.
He observed: "It is not sustainable over a prologued period of time to have what is essentially a caretaker government - including ministers who are no longer TDs because they weren't elected four-and-a-half weeks ago - making pretty profound decisions that will affect the country for a long period of time.
"It is unquestionable that the priority is to have a strong government in place to make the decisions necessary to deal with this crisis."
National government
Meanwhile, Deputy McGrath's party colleague Éamon Ó Cuív has called for a temporary national government to respond to the Covid-19 crisis.
He said many members of Fianna Fáil remain opposed to any coalition with Fine Gael.
Deputy Ó Cuív argued that the current situation does not allow time for wider policy considerations - and instead a "laser-like focus" is needed on tackling coronavirus.
My thoughts on this evening’s developments for what they’re worth:
1. #CoronavirusIreland is not a mandate for long-term Government. (1/11)— Éamon Ó Cuív (@eamonocuiv) March 10, 2020
In a series of tweets, he wrote: "A national government set up for a short but defined period would be more effective during this post-election phase in terms of taking the potentially drastic measures that will be required in the short-term by building consensus and de-politicising the crisis.
"Remember, the threat posed by coronavirus, and the actions that may be required to combat it, are unprecedented in modern times and need buy-in from the main parties and the public at large."
There are currently 34 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the Republic, along with 16 in Northern Ireland.
Deputy Ó Cuív said any national government should work closely with the North's Executive on an island-wide approach to "containment and delay of transmission".
