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| Micheál Martin to become taoiseach after parties back deal | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is set to be elected taoiseach (Irish prime minister) at a special meeting of the Irish parliament later. | |
| On Friday, members of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party backed a programme for government, paving the way for an historic coalition. | On Friday, members of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party backed a programme for government, paving the way for an historic coalition. |
| Voters went to the polls in a general election in February but no party received a majority. | Voters went to the polls in a general election in February but no party received a majority. |
| Coalition talks were then halted by the coronavirus pandemic. | Coalition talks were then halted by the coronavirus pandemic. |
| The two larger parties needed the support of the Greens to have a working majority in the Irish parliament (the Dáil). | The two larger parties needed the support of the Greens to have a working majority in the Irish parliament (the Dáil). |
| The party leaders and their negotiating teams reached agreement on a coalition deal earlier in June. | The party leaders and their negotiating teams reached agreement on a coalition deal earlier in June. |
| Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have their origins in the Irish Civil War almost 100 years ago and have never been in coalition together. | Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have their origins in the Irish Civil War almost 100 years ago and have never been in coalition together. |
| After the deal was endorsed on Friday evening, Mr Martin described it as a "moment of opportunity and hope". | After the deal was endorsed on Friday evening, Mr Martin described it as a "moment of opportunity and hope". |
| Mr Martin is expected to be taoiseach for two and a half years and then hand the job over to Leo Varadkar, the Fine Gael leader and current caretaker taoiseach. | Mr Martin is expected to be taoiseach for two and a half years and then hand the job over to Leo Varadkar, the Fine Gael leader and current caretaker taoiseach. |
| UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "Congratulations to Ireland on forming a new Government and to Micheal MartinTD on becoming Taoiseach. Ireland is our closest neighbour, good friend and ally on issues such as climate change, the global fight against Covid-19 and our shared values on human rights and democracy." | UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "Congratulations to Ireland on forming a new Government and to Micheal MartinTD on becoming Taoiseach. Ireland is our closest neighbour, good friend and ally on issues such as climate change, the global fight against Covid-19 and our shared values on human rights and democracy." |
| Analysis: BBC News NI Dublin Correspondent, Shane Harrison | |
| Micheál Martin is the only Fianna Fáil leader not to have been taoiseach, but that changes today. | |
| He will hold the role for 30 months before handing over to Leo Varadkar, the Fine Gael leader. | |
| The two parties, both centrist, Fianna Fáil slightly to the left and Fine Gael to the right, have dominated the politics of the state since its foundation. | |
| Although there has been little to separate them policy-wise for decades, their decision to share power in government for the first time is historic. | |
| But it's also a political necessity for their leaders to keep Sinn Féin, the party that got the most votes in February's general election, away from government. | |
| Sinn Féin has accused the two of using the Greens as a "fig leaf" to disguise their denial of the electorate's demand for change. | |
| The three parties now have five years to disprove those who claim the new coalition is simply a slightly greener version of business as usual in such areas as housing and dealing with climate change in a radical manner. | |
| A meeting between Mr Martin and Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers, Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill, is very likely in the coming days. | |
| While there will be new faces across the table, there will be some old problems to talk about such as Brexit and Covid-19. |