Taoiseach finally rules out Lowry

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has finally ruled out making any deal with Independent TD Michael Lowry in establishing a future minority government.

Considering his vacillation on the issue over the last few weeks, he must have been put under pressure from senior figures in his own party, as well as in Labour, to emphatically rule out doing a deal with the disgraced former minister and former chairman of the Fine Gael parliamentary party.

Up to now, Kenny’s failure to explicitly reject the possibility of seeking or accepting Lowry’s support had become increasingly problematic for him, as well as for Fine Gael.