Agriculture is believed to be one of the main sticking points.
Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and The Green Party are meeting this afternoon to thrash out a programme for government after talks last night went into the small hours of the morning.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said yesterday there is a strong possibility that a programme for government could be agreed over the weekend with the aim of having a government in place by the end of June. Sticking points are thought to include agriculture and the 7% target in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Last night’s talks wrapped up around 1am, and today’s discussions are also expected to run late, with plenary meetings beginning this afternoon.
Our political correspondent, Seán Defoe, says the leaders will sign off on the proposals before they are presented to party members for approval.
He says: "The general prediction is that at some point tomorrow we will see a programme for government. After the plenary teams have signed off on it it does need to go upstairs to the party leaders for final approval and for any outstanding issues if there are any left. It looks like certainly that by tomorrow, if not Monday, they will have a programme that they can look to put to their parties."
