The Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin is again "absolutely" ruling out a coalition with Sinn Fein.

He also says he won't enter a government with Fine Gael as a partner.

Mr Martin says he'll see how the seats are filled before making any decision:

Earlier Fine Gael election chief Brian Hayes said that talk of a Fine Gael - Fianna Fáil coalition was "folly" at this stage. However, the party's Dermot Ahern said that both sides had a duty to sit down and talk.

Micheál Martin also admitted that the gender quota made it difficult for his party to run more candidates and had an effect on the votes that the party received:

Fine Gael's Frances Fitzgerald says there is an onus on 'all parties and groups' to find a stable government.

She says while the party will have to analyse all of the figures - there is an obligation on the Taoiseach to find a 'stable' government: