Another senior figure in Fine Gael has said he is willing to consider a pact with Fianna Fáil after the next election, breaking a rivalry between both parties that has extended for nearly a century.

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has become the latest in a small but influential number of senior Fine Gael ministers who have publicly refused to discount the possibility of coalition with Fianna Fáil.

Cabinet colleague Leo Varadkar has also expressed similar sentiments. On the Fianna Fáil side, Carlow-Kilkenny TD and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee John McGuinness has also called on his party to debate whether or not it should cast the historical differences aside with Fine Gael.

In an interview, Mr Coveney said his preference was for the current Coalition to be re-elected but said his party would have to look at other options if itself and Labour could not make up the numbers.

He firmly ruled out Sinn Féin but told the Irish Examiner: "I don't have any ideological problem with forming a coalition with Fianna Fáil. As long as we can hammer out a programme for government, that is something that Fine Gael can support.

“I think there’s a lot of good people in Fianna Fáil. I think I could work with them. People who support Fianna Fáil, in some ways probably have a lot in common with people who support Fine Gael.

“This isn’t an ideological problem for me. It will be a practical challenge though to put together a programme for government that Fine Gael can sign up and Fianna Fáil can too,” he is reported as saying.

In a specific reference to Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, who is a constituency colleague in Cork South Central, Mr Coveney said: “I know Micheál a long time; I don’t have any problem with him. I think he is very competent. I’m not going to start suggesting that he be a good Tánaiste, because I don’t know.

Responding this morning as he arrived for the weekly Cabinet meeting, Labour party Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin said he would let Mr Coveney to explain his own views on possible coalitions.

“The focus of Government right now is after working four years night and day to rebuild an economy destroyed by Fianna Fail. We now want to look forward to what the next phase of what Irish development will look like.

“There will be more money to spend on key social services. Our job will now be to map out what the next phase of Ireland will be. A much more inclusive Ireland,” said Mr Howlin.