Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny yesterday said there was no rift between Fine Gael and Labour on their taxation policy.
His comments came after it emerged the parties have differing views over the appropriate timeframe to reform stamp duty.
Mr Kenny insisted the two parties would publish a joint framework document on taxation shortly and said that the question of whether stamp duty would be reformed in phases over three years or in one move would be addressed when in government.
It is understood that Fine Gael favours a phased reform over three years but Labour believes this would affect the property market, with buyers opting to wait until the full reform took effect before purchasing a property.
Mr Kenny said Fine Gael viewed stamp duty as an inequitable tax and the party had worked for some time to come up with detailed proposals to reform it. He had included some details of that in his address to the party's ardfheis.
"There's no rift between the parties. The economic and tax framework document will be published shortly by Fine Gael and Labour and . . . delivered by Fine Gael and Labour over the time of the government.
"The actual timing of the details of that will be a matter for the government to implement as they see the circumstances emerge . . . and the actual timing of that will be a matter for the cabinet," he said.
Mr Kenny also said he had set the party a target of doubling its Dáil representation in Cork from five to 10 seats as an integral part of its plan to win enough seats to form the next government with Labour.
Fine Gael currently holds just one seat in each of the five Cork constituencies but Mr Kenny said he is confident the party would gain a seat in each of the five constituencies including Cork North Central which has gone from a five seater to a four seater.
"The task we have set our organisers here in Cork is a gain in every constituency and that's what we intend to do," said Mr Kenny whose party lost three seats in Cork in the 2002 general election and saw its vote across the five constituencies drop from 35.23 per cent to 28.65 per cent.
Among those who lost out in 2002 were Cllr Deirdre Clune in Cork South Central, Senator Paul Bradford in Cork East, Cllr Paddy Sheehan in Cork South West and Cllr Michael Creed who lost out to party colleague, Gerard Murphy in Cork North West.
All four are running again along with sitting TDs, Bernard Allen, Simon Coveney, Jim O'Keeffe, Gerard Murphy and David Stanton as well as Cllr Jerry Buttimer in Cork South Central and Cllr Gerry Kelly in Cork North Central which has now become a four-seater.
