Brendan Howlin has said he is ‘absolutely’ willing to engage in a Labour leadership contest.

It had been reported that Deputy Howlin would only put himself forward to replace Joan Burton if he ran unopposed.

But in a radio interview this morning Brendan Howlin revealed he is willing to fight to get the top job in his party and believes there are ‘many Deputies’ willing to second his nomination.

Labour’s Deputy leader Alan Kelly and Sean Sherlock also look set to put their names forward for the role.

Brendan Howlin denies he looked for an uncontested leadership: “Certainly not.

“Even if the seven TD’s met next Tuesday and we all decided we would nominate one individual, we need to have some process to connect to the broader membership to ensure that everyone is content with that.”