Sixty days after the general election the two main traditional parties have agreed a general set of principles

An agreement for a grand coalition between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will be formally signed off tomorrow, after a final set of discussions was scrapped for today.

The new Good Friday agreement, although less meaningful than the 1998 peace accord, will allow the two major traditional parties to form a union for the first time in Irish political history.

More participants are wanted for the so-called grand coalition, but minor parties were adamant yesterday that they would wait to see the framework document in black and white before making up their minds.

One final round of talks had been planned for today, but was cancelled because Paschal Donohoe, the Fine Gael negotiator, must attend a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels —