As thoughts turn towards the creation of a possible grand coalition between former Civil War enemies, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, a number party members have spoken out in favour and against the decision to unite the two parties in government.

Alan Kelly, Labour

Labour TD Alan Kelly said the time had come for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to “stop the pettiness”, join together in coalition and put the country first.

"We did the country a service by putting the country first five years ago," said Mr Kelly following the news that he had retained his seat in the final count in Tipperary. "They now need to put the country first. It's 2016, 100 years since the Rising. It's absolutely the time. There's very little between the two of them. They should come together and coalesce. The people expect it. The people voted for that and that's what should do now.

“It’s time for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to stop the pettiness and come together to form a Government.”

The former minister for the environment said he had no regrets about going into Government in 2011 and described the coalitions as “one of the best Governments ever to serve the people”.

“Obviously you make mistakes but by and large you look at what has been achieved, where we are as a country now.”

Leo Varadkar, Fine Gael

Leo Varadkar ruled out a grand alliance between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

“I don’t favour it,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for either party. I don’t think it would last. I don’t trust them and I think it would open the door to Sinn Féin as the lead opposition.”

Mr Varadkar, a potential pretender to Enda Kenny's throne in any heave against the leader, also appeared to be mulling some time on the Opposition benches.

“It is clear that the public decided not to re-elect this government and I don’t think the obligation to form a new government necessarily falls on us at all,” he said.

Writing in the Irish Independent during the week, Mr Varadkar described a coalition between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil as a nightmare.

“We can’t work with parties that can’t be trusted to do what is right, rather than what is expedient,” wrote Mr Varadkar on Thursday.

“A so-called grand coalition between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil would be a forced marriage with Sinn Féin holding the shotgun.”

“It suits some political commentators because they can write about the end of Civil War politics. Even better, they can then write new articles about the return of Civil War politics when it all ends in acrimony and bitter divorce. It won’t be a real coalition. It won’t be grand. It won’t last. And it won’t protect the Irish people.

Richard Bruton, Fine Gael

Mr Varadkar’s cabinet colleague Richard Bruton seemed less reluctant towards the idea of union.

We need a stable government. One that can implement a coherent economic plan,” he said. The jobs minister also referred to the primacy of the “national interest” — another slogan regurgitated by those in the more reflective camp. The catchphrase is widely associated with former Progressive Democrats leader Des O’Malley, declared repeatedly as he led his party into a then unthinkable coalition with Charlie Haughey’s Fianna Fail in 1989.

Ciarán Cannon, Fine Gael

Re-elected Galway East Fine Gael TD Ciarán Cannon said the party needed to focus on forming a stable government, perhaps with Fianna Fáil.

“I don’t suspect that any people that cast their ballot yesterday want to see us going back to them in the near future and that places a serious responsibility upon all of us to perhaps set aside some of the preconceived notions we might have had in the past about working with certain entities or parties,” he said. Asked whether this meant doing a deal with Fianna Fáil, he said: “I think it has to be considered.”

Mary Hoade, Fine Gael

Fine Gael councillor Mary Hoade said her supporters believed a special ard fheis would have to be held to discuss the issue if coalition of any kind was an option.

“We have to seek a mandate from the organisation to ensure that we can go into coalition, or who we are going into coalition with, but I think it is very important that we have a stable government after a few difficult years for people,”she said.

Bernard Durkan, Fine Gael

Fine Gael’s Bernard Durkan said he’d spoken on many occasions in the Dáil about what should happen when a government is defeated.

“When a government is defeated in office, the combined opposition have a duty to form a government,” said Mr Durkan. He said Fine Gael was defeated in government and both the Labour Party and Fine Gael had been defeated and both suffered considerably, as a result of putting the country first.

He said he predicted they were “going to be hammered” because of what they had to do.

“Fianna Fail should be given an Oscar for the way they managed to come out from under the blame for what happened five years ago,” he said.

Additional reporting from PA