The Labour Party yesterday reacted cautiously to a pre-election pact offer by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny to drop candidates where the other partner is more likely to win a seat.
Mr Kenny was reported in a Sunday newspaper as saying his party would run one candidate in some three-seat constituencies where traditionally it ran two if this would increase the chances of making gains against Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.
He said he would expect Labour to make a reciprocal arrangement.
However, a Labour spokesman said yesterday the matter had not been discussed with them at all.
"While both parties want to maximise votes we have to be realistic because we are in competition with each other," he said.
He said Mr Kenny and Labour leader Pat Rabbitte were expected to have an informal meeting before the end of the Dáil session next week to move the process forward.
"I'm sure if Enda Kenny wants to discuss this with us then he will do it then. This is not something we have discussed at all even within the Labour Party itself."
Teams from both parties are then expected to enter talks on "general principles and guidelines".
At last month's Labour Party conference more than 1,100 delegates approved Mr Rabbitte's preference for a pre-election pact with Fine Gael.
However, Mr Rabbitte said a coalition deal with Fine Gael would not be done at all costs and Labour would present voters with "a strong, coherent, radical manifesto" written by the party and no one else.
In an interview in the Sunday Times, Mr Kenny said his party would run just one candidate in some three-seat constituencies where traditionally it runs two if this would increase the chances of a rainbow coalition making gains against Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.
In return he would expect Labour to make similar gestures.
"If you stand two candidates in a three-seater are you doing down the chances of winning a seat for a combination of the parties? Would you be better to run one from each party? These are things we can discuss without interfering with the right of another party to contest and fight to win each of its own seats," he said.
He said Fine Gael is battle-ready and will hold its first candidate selection conventions in September and October. The party is "very solid, well run and well resourced". He said he believes Fianna Fáil is keeping its options open on a post-election coalition deal with Sinn Féin.