Enda Kenny says he’ll fight election and serve full term

Enda Kenny says he will "fight" the election, win and serve the full term if returned as taoiseach.

The Taoiseach denied any reports that he was considering retirement during the next five years. “People put dates on any kind of comment that you make. Actually I want to win this election,” he said.

Mr Kenny said he expected Fine Gael and Labour to be returned to government.

“I intend to win this general election, to lead the next government and to serve a full term,” he said.

“I intend to serve a full-term as Taoiseach.”

When asked on RTE's Morning Ireland if this would be the last general election as party leader, Mr Kenny said his intention was to win this coming election. "God knows what the future holds," he said.

“For me my intention is to fight the election, to win the election and to bring Fine Gael and Labour back into government, continue to secure the recovery, provide stability and to serve a full term.”

Government chief whip Paul Kehoe said last month if Mr Kenny won the coming election, he would serve for another five years and more.

At the time, Mr Kenny responded to the “endless Enda” claims that Mr Kehoe had used “a lot of poetic licence”.

“I have no intention of staying beyond the remit of the next government to be taoiseach,” Mr Kenny said.

During the Friday interview, Mr Kenny was also asked about Irish Water.

Mr Kenny said despite all the controversy surrounding Irish Water, setting up the utility was the right decision to make.

“If you were to do it again you’d probably do some things differently. But the decision is right to have a single entity manage the water and the waste water for a country,” he said.

“We’re asking people to make a fair and affordable contribution.”

Mr Kenny defended the conservation grant of €100, which people could apply for after they have registered with Irish Water.

To claim the grant, people do not need to show any conservation of water.

“Conservation is important...water comes at a cost. The bills will accumulate if they decide not to pay.”

“The decision is the right one. The prices are fixed out to 2019.”

Near the end of the interview, Mr Kenny was repeatedly asked if he made any mistake on the way he handled the Fennelly report but he did not answer directly.

Mr Kenny said he did not have any regrets on how he handled it and it was former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan’s decision to retire.

“It was his (Callinan) decision to retire. He had other options but he decided not to use them,” he said.