11:25AM · 10 FEB 20

Micheál Martin, Leo Varadkar and Mary Lou McDonald ahead of the RTÉ Prime Time debate last week. Source: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

As speculation about possible future coalitions mount, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has already made contact with a number of smaller political parties.

Speaking on Morning Ireland, McDonald reiterated that her preference is for a government without Fianan Fáil or Fine Gael.

However, she said she will speak to every party and independents about government formation.

McDonald said Sinn Féin has already been in touch with the Green Party, the Social Democrats and Solidarity-People Before Profit, and will also talk to independents and Labour, “everybody outside the old two”, to establish “whether or not there are the numbers to deliver a government without Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael”.

McDonald added: “Of course I’ll talk to Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar and I think the democratic thing is for them to speak to me too. I’ll speak to everyone because that’s what grown-up people do.”

She said she expects Sinn Féin to get more than 30 seats and said, in hindsight, the party should have run more candidates.

“Hindsight is a great thing, of course we should have fielded more candidates (had we know how well we would do). Certainly if I were a political clairvoyant, of course we would have run more candidates.”