Taoiseach Enda Kenny has claimed there could be a "flight" of jobs and capital from Ireland if some alternatives to the Fine Gael-Labour coalition are elected to government.

Mr Kenny on Tuesday "there are consequences to the alternatives" and suggested Sinn Fein in government will hugely increase income taxes.

The Taoiseach, speaking at the online payments company PayPal in Dundalk, said the Irish people have a choice to make on polling day, February 26th.

“What do they want for their country? What do they want for themselves, their families and their communities?”

He said Fine Gael has a "track record" on the economy and unemployment has dropped from over 15 per cent when the party took office in 2011 to 8.6 per cent now.

“There are alternatives, but there are consequences to the alternatives,” he said

“I do not want to see the flight from this country of either capital or jobs or lack of investment coming in here. And what you see is difficulties in other countries. Greece is back in recession, Spain hasn’t been able to form a government and there are rising interest rates in Portugal. We’re in a very much stronger position than we were. We still have some distance to travel and there are still many challenges out there.

“That’s a choice for the people and I think they will reflect on that very carefully in the next seven to ten days. They decide what direction our country goes: forwards or backwards.”

He further claimed that’s “instability, uncertainty, confusion (and) lack of clarity” will damage Ireland’s economic prospects but did not accept a hung Dáil is inevitable.

“What came from last night’s debate was the clear, coherent message from the two government parties that have worked well together in the interests of the people.

"There are alternatives. Half the Fianna Fáil party want to join with Sinn Fein and if people want to pay 50 per cent tax on an income of €33,000, well they can opt for that if they wish.

“If they are going to have in excess of 60 per cent tax rate on higher incomes, they can vote for that if they wish.

“Where do they want to go over the next five years. What kind of government do they want to elect?” he said.