Enda Kenny has conceded he will not have enough votes to be re-elected as Taoiseach this Thursday - a move which will force him to resign.

The Fine Gael leader says he doesn't think any candidate will have the necessary support to be elected as Taoiseach at the Dáil's first meeting.

Under the constitution he will then be required to resign as Taoiseach, as he will no longer have the support of a majority in the Dáil, although he and the outgoing cabinet will remain in place in a caretaker capacity.

The Taoiseach was speaking at a meeting in Brussels where EU leaders are debating ways to tackle the refugee crisis.

Meanwhile the Independent Alliance has hinted it may prefer to back a Fianna Fáil-led government than a Fine Gael-led one.

The six-strong alliance met with Micheal Martin in Leinster House this afternoon - and afterwards complemented him on the 'energy' he showed during the meeting.

The group's co-founder Shane Ross was questioned about his comments in his column in the Sunday Independent - in which he referred to Kenny as a possible "political corpse":

Sinn Féin has meanwhile accused the two larger parties of simultaneously trying to control both the Government and the opposition - by refusing to entertain a coalition while also seeking to build a government.

Waterford TD David Cullinane says the parties' platforms are nearly identical, and there is no reason for them not to form a coalition so that they can begin discussing issues like housing, homelessness and hospital overcrowding: