Taoiseach Enda Kenny has insisted he will remain in office for a full Dáil term but will not lead Fine Gael into the next general election.

Mr Kenny said his position had not changed despite a bad election result for his party which returned 26 fewer deputies than it did in 2011.

“I have always said that my intention would be to serve the full term – but not to lead the party into the next general election,” Mr Kenny said yesterday. “I’ve made that perfectly clear and that’s where I am – but I have a lot of work to do in the meantime.”

Despite his comments, it is widely expected Mr Kenny will step down within two years. Senior Fine Gael figures insisted there was no threat to his leadership in the immediate future.

“We had a bad election. He had a bad election but he has been like Action Man in getting this Government together,” a source said.

“There will be nobody forcing him out the door. But in saying that, there is an expectation he will stand aside within two years to let a new leader take charge.”

Leo Varadkar, Frances Fitzgerald, Simon Coveney and Paschal Donohoe have all been tipped as possible successors to Mr Kenny.

The Taoiseach also insisted the new minority Government would stand the test of time.

He said he expected "the odd row" between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, but insisted the two parties' agreement would last until 2018, when it is due for review.

Change of attitude

Mr Kenny said a change of attitude was required from all political parties and the public service to allow the Government to work.

“From now on it’s got to be an understanding that all of these matters have to be discussed and published and made available for the information of the public and I think in that sense there’s a great freedom and a liberty here that has not been available or wasn’t necessary before and caused quite a deal of difficulties in time past.”

Mr Kenny said his first few weeks in office with the new administration had been quite different to his first term as Taoiseach.

He claimed a man had stopped him on the street and thanked him for volunteering to run the country when others who had been elected had refused to participate.

Mr Kenny also told reporters his appointments to the Seanad would be reflective of a range of issues that needed to be addressed by the minority Government.