Ryan says coalition talks with Sinn Féin would be “very difficult”

With Sinn Féin holding a steady lead in the polls but falling well short of an outright majority, talk has now turned to potential coalition partners.

Social Democrats have said that implementing Slaintecare is a red line for their participation in a coalition, and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan says that coalition talks with Sinn Féin would be “very difficult.”

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Ryan was asked about the possibility of the Greens remaining in coalition after the next general election regardless of who the biggest party was, and he said the Greens “kind of have a responsibility to try and get in the forming of the government, no matters whos in government.”

Citing environmental issues, Ryan said that there is a sense of urgency surrounding the Greens being in government, but went into detail about a potential coalition with Sinn Féin.

“You wouldn’t necessarily form a government with them. I’d be honest, I think it’d be very difficult negotiations with Sinn Féin because when it comes to some of the hard choices – it’s all very well being in favour of the nice things and against all the bad things and we’ve money for all the nice things without actually having the money.”

A hypothetical left-led Government failed to come to fruition after the 2020 election, with Sinn Féin leading talks with the Greens and Social Democrats, but the seat count was well below a majority in the Dáil.

With the new Dáil constituency reviews appearing fairly favourable to the Greens and 87 seats now required for a Dáil majority, the Greens may still play a part in the next government formation talks.

Current polling indicates the party is unlikely to repeat its 2020 performance, which saw it elect 12 TDs to the Dáil, which is consistent with the struggles of other Green parties that have gone into government across Europe such as Austria, Germany, Finland and Sweden.

As for what the Greens red lines would be in coalition talks, Ryan said addressing climate change was the main burning issue for his party.

“Greenwashing is the worst crime in terms of going out there beating your chest and saying, ‘Look how great we are.’ And people actually say, ‘You know what – it’s all hat and no cattle,’ as the Texans say and that’s not where we want to go,” he said.