Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he is giving strong consideration to all of the options open to him to form the next Government.
Mr Ahern has said his first preference for the formation of a new coalition Government is with the Progressive Democrats and like-minded Independents.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, he said that this is subject to him sitting down with his colleagues but he said he and Brian Cowen had already spoken to agree a process of negotiation.
However, Mr Ahern also indicated that his party may also look at forming an alliance with the Greens.
Asked about the Progressive Democrats performance in the election, Mr Ahern said he never saw his coalition partners holding eight seats but at worst he thought they would return four Dáil deputies.
He said he had not expected that Michael McDowell would lose his seat.
Mr Ahern said his biggest concern on election day was whether Fianna Fáil's vote would hold up and whether his colleagues would 'do alright'.
He described a Saturday evening journey through south Kerry and south west Cork as the best moment of Election 2007.
Difficult moments
Mr Ahern said there were a lot of difficult moments during the campaign.
He said he had never in 30 years witnessed the raw aggression during of some of the media huddles early on in the campaign.
Mr Ahern said nothing he will do can ever beat being part of the process that brought peace to Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, in an interview on Sky News, Mr Ahern said the top of his agenda was to make sure that the next Government is credible, with longevity and stability.
He added that Fianna Fáil had received 'an enormously strong mandate' from the electorate and it 'beholds' them to form a Government.
He said Fianna Fáil must reform services and continue doing the work that had been so successful for the Irish economy.
