A senior Fianna Fáil TD has said he is against a potential grand coalition between the party and Fine Gael.
Limerick city’s Willie O’Dea made his comments after Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin declined to rule out such a future coalition.
Mr Martin previously turned down a coalition offer from former Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has also kept the prospect of a Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition open.
In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Martin said Fianna Fáil wanted to "lead the next government", and would not "rule anything in or out", raising the prospect of Fine Gael as the junior partner in government to Fianna Fáil.
“We haven’t ruled anything in or anything out in terms of we want to lead the next government, that’s our position and we are impatient with the lack of progress at the moment. We think on the two big issues of housing and health the Government has failed,” Mr Martin said.
He also said that a Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil coalition would allow Sinn Féin to dominate the opposition benches.
“We have made the point that a grand coalition opens up the opportunity for Sinn Féin and other people, and I think the centre ground of Irish politics could be irreparably damaged in such a scenario, and that has to be factored in as well.”
Ruled out
Mr Martin has repeatedly ruled out a coalition with Sinn Féin, but recently declined to rule out a confidence and supply arrangement with the party.
Mr O’Dea said he is not in favour of going into government with either Fine Gael or Sinn Féin.
On the prospect of coalition with Fine Gael, Mr O’Dea said: “My personal view is that I would not be in favour of it, but it would be up to the party. If the party was to have that discussion, I would make my position known.”
Any future coalition Fianna Fáil enters into will have to be ratified by a special ardfheis of party members.
A number of other senior TDs have privately said they would prefer to go into government with Sinn Féin rather than Fine Gael, although they acknowledge Mr Martin’s vehement opposition to such a move.
One Deputy said Mr Martin had placed himself in an awkward position with his statements on governmental arrangements, and could have to make difficult choices after an election.
