O’Dea admits Fianna Fáil is not ready for an election

Fianna Fáil is not ready for a snap general election if the aftermath of the Labour leadership battle breaks the Coalition apart early, Willie O’Dea has admitted.

The former cabinet minister says the party is still trying to recover from its “decimating” defeat in 2011 and is not in shape for a fresh national poll yet.

Despite unease in Fine Gael that whoever prevails as Labour leader a crisis general election could be on the way well before 2016, Mr O’Dea said Fianna Fáil needs more time to recover.