Fine Gael leader, Michael Noonan says that he sees Labour as his party’s ideal coalition partners.
Mr Noonan said, “our preferred partners in Government would be the Labour Party.
"The Labour party and Fine Gael have provided very good Government throughout the seventies under Liam Cosgrave, under Gareth Fitzgerald in the eighties and in the nineties under John Bruton.
"Now at the start of a new century I would like to form a new FG-Labour Government where I would be Taoiseach.”
The Fine Gael leader takes his party campaign to the northwest today.
At 10.30am Michael Noonan will visit the famous Magee clothing factory in Donegal town before he is expected to make a key speech on social partnership and quality of life issues.
Later today he will address the Chamber of Commerce in Letterkenny before concluding his day’s activities in Buncrana in the northeast of the county.