Kenny not hiding, says Shatter

Fine Gael TD Alan Shatter has said that the suggestion that party leader Enda Kenny is in “hiding” is “little short of laughable”.

The comments come as Mr Kenny rejected an invitation by Micheál Martin to take part in an election debate with the leaders of the three main parties.

Fianna Fáil and Labour are in favour of a three person contest but Kenny is calling for the leaders of the five main parties to be included. The Green Party and Sinn Féin have since backed Mr Kenny’s proposals.

Micheál Martin said that he is surprised and disappointed at Enda Kenny's objection and is urging him to reconsider.

Earlier today, Government chief whip John Curran T.D said: “Fine Gael’s silence on the need for head to head debates between party leaders is also interesting.

“With the leaders of both the Labour Party and Fianna Fáil now agreeing in principle with the importance of this format, surely Fine Gael’s ‘Hide Enda’ strategy has become untenable?”