TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has said he is open to a prospect of an early general election.
Speaking as counting was taking place in the Republic's local government elections, the Fine Gael leader said he couldn't rule out a general election in the next few weeks or months.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week yesterday, Mr Varadkar said the decision on whether to hold an early general election or a number of Dáil by-elections was dependant on a number of factors, including "the instability across the water in relation to Brexit".
"It's a judgement that has to be made at a later date.
"The by-elections have to be made within a six-month date so they'd have to be made by mid-November.
"There are other factors at play. Obviously the instability across the water in relation to Brexit, we have to bear that in mind, and also whether we can get the votes to get a budget through," the taoiseach said.
The Fine Gael leader, did however, rule out a cabinet reshuffle following the local elections.
"I am not sure now is the time to ask ministers to read into a new brief, given the uncertainty over Brexit," he said.
In all 949 council seats were to be filled across 166 local electoral areas in the Republic at the weekend, while counting began yesterday for 13 seats in the European elections.
In the wake of the Greens success at the polls, the taoiseach conceded the results may accelerate government action in relation to climate change.
