Fianna Fáil TDs and senators are gathering in north County Dublin this afternoon for the party’s annual think-in.

The gathering will address a range of issues including the housing crisis, the upcoming budget and the looming threat of Brexit.

The meeting comes as negotiators prepare for a second round of budget talks with the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.

The party has pledged to work towards making the budget a ‘housing budget’ – while it is reportedly also pushing for welfare-linked increases and an extra €10 for pensioners.

The meeting comes after Fianna Fáil rejected the Taoiseach’s call for an extension to the confidence and supply arrangement that is propping up the Government.

Leo Varadkar warned that a government “cannot function properly if it does not know if it will last from week to week” and noted that the looming that of Brexit requires a steady Government.

Party Leader Micheál Martin said his party would not enter talks on an extension until the Budget is agreed and announced – and said he did not see any basis for the Taoiseach’s concerns.

A number of Fianna Fáil TDs have now publicly called for an end to the arrangement as the ongoing crises in housing and health show little sign of abating.