LAST UPDATE | 6 hrs ago

IN THE WAKE of the election, eight independent TDs are coming together and registering as a technical group in Leinster House.

The ‘Regional Group’ met today and agreed to register as a technical group, which are groupings that can be formed by independents as a way to secure more speaking time in the Dáil – and will likely now also play a role in terms of communications with larger parties about the prospect of independents propping up a government.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are collectively only a few seats short of the numbers needed to form a government and are eyeing up a potential partnership between the two of them and others, whether that be with a smaller party or independents.

The eight TDs that have signed up to the Regional Group are Sean Canney, Marian Harkin, Barry Heneghan, Noel Grealish, Michael Lowry, Kevin (‘Boxer’) Moran, Verona Murphy and Gillian Toole.

These types of groups have sometimes played an important role in the past in government formation after an election when one party does not win enough seats to hold power alone.

Galway East TD Sean Canney and Longford–Westmeath TD Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, two of the members of the Regional Group, were previously part of the 2016 Fine Gael-led government as part of a group of six independents known as the Alliance group.

Canney and Moran shared the role of Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief during the lifetime of that government.

In a recent interview with The Journal, Canney said that was a “stable government for four years“, and that it “wasn’t independents” that ultimately led to that government ending, saying also that he takes issue with any suggestion that independents create instability.

Asked about his priorities if he was involved in government formation talks, Canney said there are regional infrastructure issues that need to be tackled, such as railway lines in the west of the country and traffic congestion in Galway, but also insisted independents don’t just focus on “parish pump politics” and that his “biggest issue” would be about accelerating housing construction.

Wexford TD Verona Murphy, another member of the Regional Group formed today, was elected to the Dáil for the first time in 2020 as an independent. She previously ran in a 2019 by-election as a Fine Gael candidate but the party did not select her for their ticket again due to criticism over comments Murphy made about migrants.

In an interview on RTÉ Prime Time  yesterday evening, Murphy wouldn’t confirm whether she had spoken to anyone in Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael but said that she has been “on the phone for hours and hours” over the last few days. 

She was part of a group in the last Dáil known as the Regional Independents Group, which also included Seán Canney, Noel Grealish and Michael Lowry.

Of the eight TDs in the group, only Gillian Toole (Meath East) and Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North) are starting their first term in the Dáil.

Heneghan is understood to be a protégé of Finian McGrath, a former TD who was himself a member of the Independent Alliance grouping and served as junior minister for disability during the 2016-2020 government.

The Journal politics team has reported that it understands that Heneghan already has a ‘wish list’ ready engaging in any discussions about government formation talks.

Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin are each convening a meeting of their parliamentary party today to determine their plan of action during government formation talks.

Labour, the Social Democrats and Sinn Féin have also agreed to hold meetings with each other this week.

Fianna Fáil secured the largest number of seats of any party in this election (48). Sinn Féin is the second largest on 39 but neither Micheál Martin nor Mary Lou McDonald appear inclined to go into coalition with each other.

That leaves Fine Gael as the next largest parliamentary party with 38 seats. Fine Gael is open to going into coalition with Fianna Fáil but has signalled that it would want ‘parity of esteem’ that would give it equal footing despite having fewer seats.