Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said the party will give "one hell of a fight" in the Dublin West by-election.
At the conclusion of the parliamentary party's seminar in Tallaght, Mr Martin said Fianna Fáil was very conscious of the status of the party in Dublin, but also conscious of the legacy left by the late Brian Lenihan.
He said the party would be putting "a lot of resources" into the by-election.
The party has selected David McGuinness as its candidate to contest the by-election.
The 26-year-old is a Councillor on Fingal County Council representing the Mulhuddart area.
Asked about weekend comments by Martin McGuinness, in which he said Sinn Féin would be targeting Fianna Fáil, Mr Martin said he was not "looking over his shoulder" at other parties.
He criticised Sinn Féin's performance in the Northern Ireland Executive, and said politics was not just about winning seats, or "taking out" other parties. He said it was about having ideas about how to improve society.
Their meeting today was due to focus on job creation and the economy.
The party is promising to table legislation in the new Dáil term to establish a statutory body to renegotiate household debt for families that are overwhelmed by their liabilities.
Mr Martin said yesterday that the party is looking at ways to change how it works after February's poor election performance.
