The Taoiseach has said he would work with Fianna Fáil after the election if the numbers demand it.
Leo Varadkar made the comment during a head-to-head leaders’ debate with Micheál Martin on Virgin Media last night.
He said the parties would need to be “grown-ups” if a grand coalition is the only way to form a stable government after the election.
Deputy Martin did not confirm whether it was something he would consider – and said all Fine Gael wanted to do was attack him.
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China has suspended flights and trains in and out of the city of Wuhan as it tries to halt the spread of a new virus that has left 17 dead.
Beijing has also closed down public transport in the city and advised residents not to leave.
The Work Health Organisation is deciding whether to declare the outbreak a global emergency with more than 500 cases identified worldwide.
Meanwhile, a decontamination exercise was carried out at the Mater Hospital in Dublin last night after a patient who had returned from the country presented with a fever.
She was assessed and found not to have the virus.
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Three people have died after a water-tanker plane crashed while fighting wildfires near the Australian capital Canberra.
The New South Wales Fire Service said there was a “large fireball” as the plane hit the ground and there appears to have been no survivors.
The plane was operated by a company from the US state of Oregon and it is believed the three people who died were American.
Bushfires have claimed more than 28 lives in Australia since they began burning in September.
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SIPTU is warning thousands of people will face a financial "cliff edge" if the government increases the pension age.
Under current proposals, the pension age will increase from 66 to 67 in 2021, and then to 68 in 2028.
The union is today launching its new STOP 67 campaign - calling for the decision to be reversed.
SIPTU spokesperson Frank Connelly from said the plan has been badly thought out and will hurt people if it goes ahead.
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A new report from the ESRI has found that Ireland's tax system does more than any other EU country to reduce income inequality.
The think-tank said that despite gross household income being one of the most unequal in Europe – it is offset by the current tax model.
The ESRI study examines how income inequality has changed in the past 30 years.
Dr Barra Roantree said the study takes the redistribution of taxes through social welfare into account.
