Daniel McConnell and Elaine Loughlin, Irish Examiner

The Green Party look set to withdraw from talks with Fine Gael on forming a Government, several sources familiar with the process have said.

The two Green TDs Eamon Ryan and Catherine Martin are to refer the matter to their members tomorrow.

Marathon talks between Fine Gael Independents and the Greens concluded this evening shortly before 9pm with one participant sounding a pessimistic note as he left Leinster House.

"It is going nowhere," said the TD.

The lengthy talks between the sides discussed the logistics of how a minority government would work.

"The buzz word was partnership. We wouldn't be propping them up. It would be a partnership," another TD said.

Talks will resume at 8.30am in the morning.

During the discussions, Acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny was pressurised by the Independents to "pick up the phone" and ring Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin, as his party's support would be needed.

"Contact has to be made. If Fianna Fáil don't support this, then these talks will have been pointless," the TD added.

Health Minister Leo Varadkar has said it will be difficult to form a stable government without “some sort of arrangement” between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

It came after another long day of discussions with Independents and others in which a number of topics were discussed but no agreements made.

With the Independent Alliance, the Green Part and the grouping of five rural TDs still meeting with bother Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil is understood that negotiations on forming any government are likely to take weeks if not months and no deal will be reached by April 6ths when the Dáil resumes.

Speaking Mr Varadkar said the talks between Fine Gael, the Green Party and a number of independents were going “reasonably well”.

However, a number of Independent TDs who attended the meeting said progress had been sluggish and would continue at the same pace as ideas are put forward and policy thrashed out.

Asked by reporters if he felt it was inevitable that Fine Gael would have to contact Fianna Fáil, Mr Varadkar said: “I don’t think it’s inevitable, but I do think it will be difficult to form a stable government without some sort of arrangement between the two large parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael”.

The Dublin West TD said: “The reason why we need a stable government, of course, is a government that is unstable or may collapse at any time isn’t really going to be able to deal with the problems that people face, whether it’s economic issues or social issues such as health and housing, for example”.

During the second round-table negotiation a number of the 17 Independent and Green Party TDs voiced their dissatisfaction that Fine Gael has yet to reach out the other major party.

However, it is understood Mr Kenny said he would not be contacting Fail leader Micheál Martin until he concludes talks with Independent TDs.

The meeting first dealt with a housing and homeless paper which took up much of last Thursday’s talks.

But the meeting also moved on to focus on jobs, agriculture and rural development which a number of the Independent TDs including Michael Collins, Michael Fitzmaurice and the Healy-Rae brothers see as a priority issues.

Also discussed towards the end of the meeting last night was mental health.

The final item to be discussed last night was a Fine Gael paper outlining how exactly a minority government would work taking in how legislation might be passed as well as how and when policies might be implemented.

One senior Fine Gael source said “a lot of ground” had been covered and it is understood a number of separate meetings will also take place tomorrow.