RODERIC O’GORMAN HAS urged Labour and the Social Democrats to engage in government formation negotiations in order to prevent backsliding on critical green legislation.

The Green Party leader said he was most worried that funding allocations for areas such as agriculture, public transport projects and nature protection will shrink in the next government, if “populist independents” are in a coalition.

O’Gorman, speaking to media in Dublin, said it was “very unlikely” that he will be going back into government and ruled out any suggestions that he would take part in a confidence-and-supply arrangement during the next Dáil term.

He called on the centre-left groups to seriously engage in government formation discussions and warned that a government that is supported by “more populist independents” will likely lead to backsliding on climate action. 

Labour and the Social Democrats are meeting in Dublin today to discuss the possibility of entering negotiations, jointly. TDs in Labour have said they would be unwilling to enter a government without the sister party.

“I think where parties have received a mandate, and I think those two parties have, they absolutely should be going into the Program for Government negotiations, at the minimum, on a serious basis,” O’Gorman said.

“The only way to bring forward progressive policies -  be they on the environment, be they on wider social issues – the only way they get implemented is by parties in government, taking that risk.”

Asked if going into Government was worth the party losing all but one of their seats in the Dáil, O’Gorman said: “100%. It was absolutely worth it.”

He said the party were able to implement permanent climate and social legislative changes during their term in Government and were supported by the coalition leaders.

O’Gorman suggested that most of the internal opposition from the outgoing Government was from Fianna Fáil backbenches. 

He told The Journal, however, that he believes there was not enough political will reflected in general election manifestos by either of his outgoing coalition partners on climate policy, namely on public transport expansion.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik spoke with O’Gorman yesterday to discuss the possibility of him and the Green Party joining her proposed centre-left-and-green block ahead of negotiations. 

O’Gorman said that he shared with her what he had learnt from his time in Government but recused himself from forming an alliance in negotiations, claiming that his party had not received the mandate from the public to do so.

Bacik is bound to the proposal that Labour and the  Social Democrats join forces to seek a position in government.

She claimed yesterday that the only way to secure progressive legislation and deliver change in government is to do so from “a position of collective strength”.

Deputy Social Democrats leader Cian O’Callaghan said yesterday his party are willing to discuss the possibility of entering government, but only if it is able to secure policy commitments from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael before doing so.

Elsewhere, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – who on Wednesday made clear that independent TDs are in the frame to form a government – are pausing government formation talks today, as their respective party leaders attend government duties in Edinburgh.

Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin are in Scotland to meet with the British-Irish Council, where both leaders have said some short, informal discussions will likely take place – but admitted that both of them will be short for time.

“It’s a very busy night, tonight and tomorrow, so opportunities will be limited enough, obviously there are informal opportunities for us to touch base,” Martin said last night.

Harris told reporters last night that Fine Gael have “sounded out” a number of independent TDs over this week and will meet with political party leaders next week to discuss further.

“I take nothing for granted, and until agreements have been reached and completed, nobody can take anything for granted,” he said.