Sinn Féin and Greens to hold series of policy talks
February 24th, 2020
Representatives of Sinn Féin and the Green Party met today and have agreed to continue exploratory coalition talks on a number of policy areas.
Speaking this afternoon, Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan said that the party had a “positive exchange” with Sinn Féin today and agreed to further talks facilitated by the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) to find “common ground between us and areas where we differ”.
“The two parties had a plenary session today between the two teams and in the morning the group will break out into various strands. Areas to be explored include housing, health, climate & biodiversity, Brexit & constitutional change, childcare & education, local government, finance, and workers rights,” he added.
Earlier this month, Mr Ryan reported having “positive” discussions with Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael who he said were all willing to engage with his party’s eco-friendly mandate.
The Greens have also invited other parties to present their strategy for addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis as coalition talks continue to take place. Members from Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Social Democrats have also received the Green Party’s request to meet for discussions.
With a quadrupling of their seats in the election, the party has now gained speaking rights and will have a much greater influence in the formation of the next Government.
The Greens previously took swing at Sinn Fein’s climate ambition. During the election campaign, Dublin West TD Roderic O’Gorman said that Sinn Fein’s manifesto did not meet the scale of the climate crisis, and highlighted that the document commits to climate policy that has already been achieved, such as state fossil fuel divestment and a ban on fracking.
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