Labour leader Pat Rabbitte has rejected a suggestion by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny that Fine Gael might reduce the number of candidates in some constituencies to give strategic advantage to Labour winning seats in the next general election.
"I read that comment attributed to the leader of Fine Gael. He never said it to me," said Mr Rabbitte.
"I never said it to him. I do not think it would be a particularly good idea."
Mr Rabbitte was speaking during a question and answer session at the 25th MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Co Donegal.
Later, he told The Irish Times: "We have not gone into that kind of detail, but in my view a one-two transfer pact is what should operate, with both parties putting their backs into making it work."
In his address to the school, Mr Rabbitte repeated his call for a "Fair Society", adding that there was a major disjuncture between the success of the economy and the problems within society. "We have created a way of living for ourselves which often does not make sense," he said.
"Why, despite our wealth, do we not have an adequate health service? Why do young families have to turn themselves inside out to juggle the demands of home and work, and end up paying more for childcare than for a mortgage? Why do people living in and around Dublin and other cities spend too much of their lives in traffic jams, when other European countries have managed to construct decent transport systems?"
To him, he said, the "Fair Society" was founded on the notion that everybody was born with gifts and abilities which they developed over the course of their lives.
"Human potential is sometimes quite extraordinary. The elite sportsperson, the mathematical genius, the great artist, all demonstrate the extent of human potential.
"Equally, as we all learned when the Special Olympics were held in Ireland, sometimes the extraordinary is to be found in people overcoming barriers that others don't face."
