A Fine Gael TD has said he is in favour of extending the confidence and supply deal with Fianna Fáil.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Dublin North-West TD Noel Rock described recent comments by Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen's as unwelcome and unhelpful.

In an interview with The Irish Times, the Fianna Fáil spokesman for Public Expenditure said his party was unlikely to renew the deal, which is due to lapse following Budget 2019.

Mr Rock accused the Offaly TD of playing a game of political parlour.

He said Fianna Fáil are spoiling for an election, while Fine Gael are in favour of certainty, adding the electorate acknowledge that the deal is working for the country.

Mr Rock said he does not believe people want another election.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party's housing spokesperson Jan O'Sullivan has said the party would back a motion of no confidence against Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy, should one be moved.

Speaking at the launch of the Labour party’s Residential Tenancies Bill, Ms O'Sullivan said that although Labour would not table such a motion, and that the Minister was not solely to blame for the housing crisis, she would be in favour of backing it.

Sinn Féin had previously mentioned the possibility of introducing a Dáil motion of no confidence in Minister Murphy.

The Labour Party claims that its new bill seeks to provide for greater security of tenure and rent certainty for tenants.

It proposes to effectively extend the rent pressure zones across the country to have a rental cap in each county.