Former Labour leader Eamon Gilmore says he bears no grudge towards Tánaiste Joan Burton or Taoiseach Enda Kenny, after he was dropped from Cabinet.

In his new book Inside the Room, Eamon Gilmore details his three years as Tánaiste and describes his sacking as like "being shot at dawn".

Gilmore says his sacking, which came during a two-minute meeting, was like "being court-martialled and shot at dawn".

He was also overlooked for a European Commissioner post following his resignation as leader.

But Mr Gilmore told Newstalk's Breakfast programme that while he was disappointed to be dropped from Cabinet, he is not bitter:

Meanwhile, Joan Burton has defended her decision saying her predecessor knows well the difficulties of picking a Cabinet:

Responding to media speculation about conflict between himself and Burton, Mr Gilmore said: "There has been a lot written about this. The reality is is that over that period of time, we were focused on the crisis we were facing".

He also rejected suggestions that the Labour Party's prospects in the upcoming General Election are not promising.

The former Tánaiste insisted that poor results at the local elections are not unusual and do not indicate a similar result will follow come election time.

Mr Gilmore said recent experience in the UK had proven that polls cannot be trusted.