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New deal reached for formation of Irish government

Getty Images A large white stone building has four large pillars in front of its entrance and a grey dome roof. There is security barriers in front of the waterfountain that sits in front of the building. Getty Images

An agreement has been reached which will pave the way for a new government to be formed in the Republic of Ireland.

This follows the Irish general election in November, in which Fianna Fáil emerged as the largest party.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ are reporting two Independent TDs (Members of the Irish parliament) will attend Cabinet meetings as super junior ministers under an agreement reached.

A new programme for government is to be published on Wednesday.

As part of this programme, the incoming government intends to cut the VAT rate to 9% for food-based hospitality, entertainment and hairdressing in the next budget.

The current VAT rate for the hospitality sector is 13.5%.

Seven TDs from the Regional Independents are set to support the next government as part of an agreement with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

The Regional Independent Group will also have two ministers at the Cabinet table, but they will not hold senior ministries.

The Cabinet breakdown will see Fianna Fáil hold eight senior roles and Fine Gael will hold seven.

It is expected that Micheál Martin will hold the office of Taoiseach until some point in 2027 and possibly for a longer duration than the Fine Gael leader.