The founder of the Independent Alliance has refused to say who he would prefer to become the next Taoiseach.

Speaking this morning, Shane Ross said he had no preference for either Micheál Martin or Enda Kenny and has not ruled out going into opposition.

A vote aimed at deciding who will lead the 32nd Dáil takes place on Thursday.

Currently Fine Gael is the largest party in the country with 50 TDs, but it remains to be seen who will garner enough support to be Taoiseach.

“It would be wrong to say anything about that until we talk to Enda Kenny this afternoon and his team,” said Deputy Ross.

“It would also be wrong of course to pre-empt any future talks with Micheál Martin before that.

“But at the moment, I think it would be unlikely that we would be showing any preference for anybody, unless something very dramatic were to happen.”