Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said he is not ruling in being Enda Kenny's third Tánaiste.
Mr Martin today refused to be drawn on whether his party might go into government with Fine Gael after the next election.
Deputy Martin said the public was not interested in hearing who Fianna Fáil would or would not go into government with - he said they wanted to know the party's priorities and its position on the issues affecting society.
When asked if he would be the Taoiseach's Tánaiste after the next general election, he said: "I'm not in any shape or form ruling that in at all. I don't contemplate that at all."
He said the local elections in which Fianna Fáil had a strong showing with 25.4% of the vote were very different from a general election.
"We've to start at the bottom of the hill again and roll that boulder up," he said.