Tánaiste Joan Burton has said the Labour Party was ready had the Taoiseach called a November election.

Ms Burton said all the posters had been prepared with the presses "ready to roll whenever the date was called".

The Taoiseach finally put paid to any prospect of an early election by stating on Wednesday that it will certainly be a spring election.

The Labour Party made known its displeasure when speculation increased that the Taoiseach would opt for an autumn election instead.

On a visit to a Mullingar Chamber of Commerce annual dinner, Ms Burton said the reaction to the budget had been positive.

“It has struck a good balance around economic recovery while meeting our targets in relation to debts and deficits,” she said.

“I’m conscious of saying this in the Midlands that though unemployment has fallen significantly, we still have a lot more to do. We have begun regional rollouts for the Action Plan for Jobs and we will use it to attract significant extra investment into the Midlands in the coming years.”

Rent certainty

She said the budget "wasn't primarily about housing" and discussions were continuing between the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and the Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly in relation to the contentious issue of rent certainty.

However, she did not indicate that such a measure would be brought in. “There is quite an amount of detailed discussion. We want to ensure that tenants have confidence that the landlord won’t suddenly arrive and in effect, they could lose their rented property in a situation where it is difficult to get another one.”

The Finance Bill will bring in greater supports for landlords who are involved in renting houses either to those on rent supplement or through local authorities. There are currently 100,000 such properties in the State.

There had been a “very significant allocation” to councils throughout the country to build housing, she said, and there were also plans in Dublin to build modular housing.

Speaking at the dinner Ms Burton said the Action Plan for Jobs for the Midlands envisages the area as being a regional hub for energy and advanced manufacturing.

She anticipated that the Action Plan will see the creation of 25 additional foreign direct investment proposals over the next five years in the Midlands.

“I’m acutely conscious that not everyone is yet feeling the recovery,” she said. “But I’m confident that it is spreading, slowly, but surely, widely and deeply, to every community.”

About a dozen protesters turned up to protest at her appearance in the Mullingar Park Hotel, but they were kept well back from the venue.