Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael rule out coalition with Sinn Féin

The two main parties in the outgoing Irish government have again ruled out Sinn Fein as a potential coalition partner in the next government.

The leaders of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin were taking part in a TV debate just days before the general election.

Michaél Martin of Fianna Fail and the Fine Gael leader Simon Harris both said they will not accept Sinn Fein as a potential partner because of fundamental policy differences.

Martin said his party's position on the issue is based on differences around "core principles".

Harris said: "We will not go into government with Sinn Féin, it's not a personal thing, Mary Lou McDonald is a passionate advocate for her policies, we just have very different views".

McDonald responded by appealing to the electorate for support saying: "There is political life beyond Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael".

The Sinn Féin leader also defended her party's handling of recent internal controversies on both sides of the border saying that all the people involved were held to account, lost their jobs and are no longer in Sinn Féin.

Most of the debate was taken up by the party leaders restating their party positions on some of the main issues of the campaign.

These include the country's ongoing housing crisis, health care waiting lists, cost of living, immigration, taxation, climate change, and a potential risk to inward investment after the new Trump administration comes to power in the US.

The stakes were high as Martin, Harris, and McDonald made their pitch to the electorate during the debate.

Each leader wants to be the next Taoiseach.

The Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Fine Gael's Simon Harris have already served in the post.

Martin was Taoiseach for the first two and a half years of the outgoing government, and Harris took on the role for the final seven months of the government after he replaced Leo Varadkar as leader of Fine Gael.

It was a tricky task for Martin and Harris.

As outgoing coalition partners, they couldn't allow the debate to be viewed as two outgoing government leaders joining forces against the Sinn Féin leader.

Yet, at the same time, they couldn't be seen to be tearing strips off each other if they hope to go back into government together after the election this Friday 29 November.

There was one particularly tetchy exchange between Martin and Harris over their respective plans for recruitment in the health sector.

Sinn Féin has never been in government, and it has been making up ground in the campaign since the election was called earlier this month, according to opinion polls.

Fine Gael, on the other hand, has suffered in recent opinion polls after a number of controversies surrounding the party during the campaign, most notably an encounter between Harris and a care work in County Cork last weekend.

Harris was questioned about the encounter at the beginning of the debate, and he rejected a suggestion that the exchange was an accurate reflection of Fine Gael's neglect of the carers sector during its time in government.

Support for Fianna Fáil has remained steady during the campaign, according to recent polling.

After this debate, the three main parties will be relieved that there was no major gaffe with just two full days of campaigning before voters go to the polls.