Adams: Bigger the SF team, the better

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said a Fine Gael-Labour coalition would not represent a change in direction for the government, and that therefore "the larger the Sinn Féin team (in the Dáil), the better".

Sinn Féin is facing a battle with Fianna Fáil to be the biggest party in opposition, if tallies prove correct once the official count is completed.

Party president Gerry Adams is expected to take one of the five seats in the Louth constituency, and may be on course to top the poll.

He said: "If the polls are accurate, there isn't going to be a real change of direction, or policy, so the larger the Sinn Féin team, the better, to try to correct that."