Ireland moves closer to forming a new government after a deal is reached

LONDON (AP) — Ireland moved a step closer Tuesday to forming a new government.

A deal was reached between Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Regional Independent Group to form the next government a month and a half after the election gave no party a majority of seats needed to control parliament, Irish media reported.

Party members will have to ratify the decision in the coming days. A new parliament is due to meet Jan. 22.

In the November election, Fianna Fail had won 48 seats of the 174 legislative seats and Fine Gael had 38. The two center-right parties, who have governed in coalition since 2020, fell just short of the 88 needed to achieve a majority without third-party support.

Left-of-center party Sinn Fein won 39 seats in the Dail, the lower house, but Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have refused to work with them because of their historic ties with the Irish Republican Army during three decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin is likely to be the next taoiseach, or prime minister, a position he held in the first half of the last government. Simon Harris, the Fine Gael leader, is currently prime minister.

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are longtime rivals with origins on opposing sides of Ireland’s 1920s civil war. They formed an alliance after the 2020 election ended in a virtual dead heat.

Under the agreement reached Tuesday, two members of the mostly conservative Regional Independent Group will be given super junior ministerial positions.