The former Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has said he still has not decided whether or not he will be putting himself forward as the next leader of the Labour Party.

Brendan Howlin has said he is still in the process of considering what role he will play in rebuilding the Labour Party.

Nominations for Joan Burton’s successor opened yesterday, and will close at noon on Friday.

So far, Alan Kelly is the only of the seven Labour TDs who has publicly declared his intention to run for the leadership position.

But Brendan Howlin has said he will take on a role that is in line with the wishes of the Labour’s Parliamentary Party: “I’ve spoken to everybody and I want everybody, without exclusion, everybody, to be part of a team, that each will have their own task.

“I want to take whatever task the parliamentary party want to give me in rebuilding the party and ensuring that we are back shaping the future of our country because politics are about practical doing.”