The Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit (AAA-PBP) was established to maximise the presence of left-wing TDs in the next Dáil.
Both the AAA and the PBPA retain their individual organisations and will publish separate election manifestos.
Both are likely to focus on the need for increased spending in social housing, the abolition of the water charges and a hike in taxes for high earners.
The move to register a single political party ensures that if the combined group has seven or more TDs elected, then they will have full speaking rights in the Dáil.
Currently, there are three Anti-Austerity Alliance TDs - Ruth Coppinger, Joe Higgins (not running in the General Election) and Paul Murphy. Richard Boyd Barrett is the sole PBPA TD.
Differences in approach were evident already when the AAA opposed the idea of a voting transfer pact with Sinn Féin. This was proposed under the wider trade-union-backed Right2Change policy platform.
The PBPA Leader, Mr Boyd Barrett, was open to an idea of a transfer agreement among all parties and candidates that signed up to the Right2Change policies.
Leader profile: Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit has made his presence felt in the Dáil since making his electoral breakthrough in 2011 with his contributions on issues such as water charges and property tax, as well as his poignant description of the burial of his daughter, Ella. Read the full profile here.
By Mícheál Lehane, RTÉ Political Staff
