Ireland’s two main centre-right parties to form coalition government

Fianna Fail's Micheal Martin will be taoiseach for first three years with Fine Gael's Simon Harris taking over in November 2027

Ireland's two main centre-right parties have clinched a deal with a group of independent lawmakers to form a coalition government, six weeks after an election that wiped out the Greens as a political force.

In the deal, sealed on Wednesday, Fianna Fail's leader, Micheal Martin, will become taoiseach, or prime minister, for the first three years of the five-year government, with the incumbent Fine Gael leader, Simon Harris, taking over in November 2027.