Labour party leader Eamon Gilmore has called on the Government to hold an early general election as a first step on the road to economic recovery.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Weekprogramme, the Labour leader said the events of last week were "unprecedented" and the "country cannot afford to continue with the present incompetent Government for the next three years".
Mr Gilmore said: “We have a very serious economic problem but on top of that we have a political problem because we now have a government that doesn’t enjoy the confidence of the public and that has to change.
“The country needs its economy restarted, it needs measures that are done fairly and it needs a government that can get a grip and provide national leadership which is not being provided by the present Government.
“The start of our recovery as a country, the start of our recovery as an economy begins by getting rid of this Government out of office”.
The Labour leader also added that he would only introduce cuts as part of a package of measures that “reboot and re-stimulate” the economy.
