The Chairman of the Fine Gael parliamentary party has warned backbenchers that the coming Dáil term will be exceptionally difficult.
Charlie Flanagan was speaking as Fine Gael TDs, Senators and MEPs arrived in Westport, Co Mayo for the first of the now traditional party think-ins.
He said it was an opportunity for backbenchers to regroup ahead of a political term, which he predicted would be extremely tough.
Mr Flanagan said it would offer members a chance to look at many issues, such as the Croke Park Agreement.
The Fine Gael seminar’s agenda is dominated by the economy and the forthcoming children's rights referendum.
It comes in the wake of last week’s row over health cuts, which sparked tension between Fine Gael and Labour.
Some Fine Gael representatives are also said to be unimpressed by Minister for Health James Reilly's handling of the controversy.
The focus of the seminar is likely to be December’s Budget, which Taoiseach Enda Kenny has suggested it will be the toughest in the Government's lifetime.
Meanwhile, Minister of State Lucinda Creighton made no comment about the disclosure in the Irish Examiner of a letter from businessman Denis O'Brien, which rebuked her for criticising his appearance alongside the Taoiseach earlier this year.
In the letter, Mr O'Brien had insisted once more that the Moriarty Tribunal has found no evidence that he had facilitated payments to former minister Michael Lowry.
