The Minister for Social Protection has said she thinks the Dáil summer recess would be a "perfect time" for the Government and Fianna Fáil to sit down and put together a new confidence and supply agreement for the next two years.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke, Regina Doherty said she would ask Taoiseach Leo Varadkar this week to speak to Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin about re-negotiating the agreement.
She said the country did not need an election and the Government had been very clear that it was keen to extend the confidence and supply agreement to achieve and implement Government's legislation and objectives.
Ms Doherty said the agreement needed to be re-negotiated "because there's more in this confidence and supply agreement about water than there is about Brexit; so of course it needs to negotiated and it needs to be negotiated sooner rather than later and not leave it until we're in a crisis with regard to having maybe a hard Brexit next year".
She said there were many challenges that needed to be addressed and "they don't need a fruitless, needless election just to satisfy somebody's whim or ego".
On Friday, Mr Martin said if Leo Varadkar wanted an election he should call one and said the Taoiseach had created hype around an election by "falsely" suggesting that Fianna Fáil may support a Sinn Féin motion of no confidence in Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy.
