Kenny hits out at ‘tax and spend’ parties

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has signalled his support for a number of Independent TDs as he warns voters away from backing "tax and spend" parties at the next general election.

In an interview, Mr Kenny also spoke about Fine Gael’s intention to meet the required gender quota for female candidates at the next election.

In a veiled dig at Sinn Féin, who he has said is the main alternative for voters, Mr Kenny said: “So in my view the position becomes very clear in respect of the formation of the next government; it’s a straight question for people... [Do] they want to give a continued opportunity to people who have worked very hard and made a lot of very unpopular decisions and have pulled the country out of the economic swamp that it was in and get on with that?