Gerry Adams will lead Sinn Féin into the next General Election, according to the party's Vice President Mary Lou McDonald.
It follows speculation that Mr Adams was due to step down to allow someone else to take control of the party.
Reports said that Deputy McDonald could have stepped into the breach as Sinn Féin leader in the Republic of Ireland, however she says there is no vacancy to fill.
Ms Lou McDonald says that reports of Gerry Adams stepping down are no more than "wishful thinking" by some members of the media.
She said: "No Sunday Independent would be complete without stories about Sinn Féin and taking a swipe at Gerry Adams in particular.
"So I don't know where the source's, in inverted commas, of this story are, but I can tell you that Gerry is the leader of Sinn Féin and will be leading us into the next General Election."