Micheal Martin refuses to rule out a deal with Fine Gael

Fianna Fáil has committed to getting rid of Irish Water and scrapping water charges for five years in its general election manifesto.

At the manifesto launch in Dublin yesterday, party leader Micheál Martin was pressed repeatedly about whether he and his party would do some form of a deal with Fine Gael, but he refused to be drawn on it, or more significantly, to definitively rule it out.

He said such suggestions “bordered on the ridiculous” and said he was not going to be drawn on speculation, but also said his party would act responsibly.