THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE has floated the prospect of the outgoing coalition returning to power - saying it is an "open secret" that Fine Gael wants to see Labour return to government.
Michael Noonan says that with so many parties opting out of any role in government, a stable administration would be easier to form if multiple parties were prepared to get involved.
"It would be better if you had some independents, and Labour, and the Greens," he told reporters this morning.
"As I say, all those who are willing to participate in government could put a reasonably stable government together."
If both Labour and the Green Party joined Fine Gael in government, and that coalition retained the support of independent TDs Michael Lowry and Katherine Zappone - each of whom have already voted for Enda Kenny to be returned as Taoiseach - the combined grouping would command 61 votes in the Dáil.
With another 14 independent TDs still involved in coalition talks, the number could in theory rise to 75 - only four votes away from an outright majority in the Dáil.
"If half the Dáil excludes itself from government, then it's very hard to form a government," Noonan added - before commenting: "There may be an election."
Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this report for Today FM's National Lunchtime News:
'Good progress' in talks as President weighs in
One of the members of the Independent Alliance, which is due to meet Fine Gael tomorrow to continue its coalition talks, says Fine Gael is claiming 'good progress' in its talks with Fianna Fáil.
John Halligan - who is remaining out of talks until Fine Gael gives a commitment about the future of cardiac services - says he was briefed by Simon Coveney about the good progress of talks this afternoon.
He said he's hoping that the two parties can go back to the Independents tomorrow, with a clear indication of how any minority government might function in the Dáil:
This afternoon President Michael D Higgins spoke about the impasse for the first time - saying he was keeping abreast of the talks.
He told reporters he was hopeful that whatever outcome was reached would be in the best interests of the Irish people.
He was responding to a question about whether he would seek to use his presidential powers to make a statement to the Oireachtas, or to the Nation, discussing the political vacuum.
Crunching the numbers
As it stands, Fianna Fáil has said it will facilitate the formation of a Fine Gael-led minority government once it is satisfied that Fine Gael has assembled a Dáil team of 58 votes - the equivalent of a majority in cases where Fianna Fáil abstains.
As of last Wednesday's Dáil votes, Fine Gael already has 52, compromised of its own 50 TDs plus the votes of Lowry and Zappone.
The addition of Labour's 7 would bring the total to 59, an effective majority.
There had been speculation that Fianna Fáil could stand as an obstacle to a Fine Gael-Labour reunion, as the party had explicitly sought a "change of government" - a mission it has restated in recent weeks.
However, today Willie O'Dea - a TD who is seen as a bellweather of FF grassroots opinion - said that once Fine Gael had assembled the numbers needed to govern, the identities of those TDs were not important.
"If Enda Kenny can get up to 58 TDs who are willing to participate in government, we'll facilitate that," he said. "We'll allow the government to go in, on a negotiated general principles programme.
"I'm not overly concerned about the identities of the extra people he gets to bring him up to 58," he said, adding: "Naturally I would prefer if it were more broadly based than Fine Gael and Labour."
Labour pains
The inclusion of Labour in government would have one other significant effect - it would bypass the party's own internal requirement to hold a leadership election.
The party's constitution and rules require a leadership election to be held within six months of the election, if it does not ultimately result in Labour coming to power. The outgoing leader, in this case Joan Burton, is entitled to contest it.
If Labour were to form part of a coalition of some sort, this process would be bypassed - and spare Joan Burton the embarrassing prospect of seeking re-appointment and then losing to another contender like Alan Kelly or Brendan Howlin.
However, the party's grassroots would inevitably be consulted one way or another - as any entry to government requires the approval of a special party conference.
By all accounts the party's ordinary members are split.
Some recognise that the party's surviving TDs were elected on a mandate of governing alongside Fine Gael - but others feel the scale of their electoral defeat, and the losses compared to 2011, means there is no public appetite to have Labour in government.
