Enda Kenny has insisted he will not step down as Fine Gael leader if he loses the vote for Taoiseach when the Dáil next meets on April 6th.

Mr Kenny was asked about his position yesterday at a round table meeting he hosted with 15 Independent and two Green Party TDs.

Kevin “Boxer” Moran, a member of the Independent Alliance, asked Mr Kenny if he would remain as leader if he did not succeed in the vote and who would replace him.

Mr Moran told the Fine Gael leader he had lost the election and he would lose the vote for Taoiseach.

Mr Kenny is said to have told the meeting he may not succeed but he would “fight on”. He insisted his party is united on the need to form a stable government and he would continue to lead the negotiations.

Opposition

Fine Gael was repeatedly pressed on when it will contact

Fianna Fáil

with a view to supporting a Fine Gael-led minority government from the opposition benches.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said he had been making that point "all along".

“A lot of people asked him that obvious question.The numbers don’t add up in a very obvious immediate way. The Taoiseach recognised that.”

Mr Kenny said he was not averse to speaking to Micheál Martin to assess how the Fianna Fáil leader believes a stable government could be formed.

The discussions will resume on Tuesday when a working paper on housing policy will be tabled. Other matters to be discussed then include rural affairs, mental health and disability issues.

Universal Social Charge

A discussion document circulated by Fine Gael at yesterday’s meeting said the party is open to talking about the future of the Universal Social Charge (USC), indicating is is prepared to drop its election policy of complete abolition of the charge.

A Fine Gael source said “low tax and the abolition of the USC” are job creation mechanisms that “remain a core Fine Gael priority”.

The source added: “Of course taxation would be a subject of discussion in the context of programme for government negotiations.”

The issues of property tax and site valuation taxes are also included in the document. It contains points under eight headings: the housing shortage and homelessness; jobs and rural development; youth affairs and the elderly; management of the economy, the public finances and the labour market; health and disability; political and constitutional reform; climate change and the environment and crime prevention and justice.

Fine Gael is open to establishing three new ministerial posts for the areas of housing, rural development and climate change.