The Transport Minister says the current coalition Government will serve out its full term in office.

That's despite a report in the Sunday Independent today claiming Fine Gael Ministers are looking for an early poll as tensions mount with Labour.

In an interview with The Sunday Show's Shane Coleman, Paschal Donohoe said the government should only go to the polls when its term is up.

The paper also says there's pressure from backbench TDs who want the public to vote while there's good news on the economic front, but Donohue denies this:

"There's certainly no pressure building. It's uniquely the prerogative of the Taoiseach to decide when to dissolve the Dáil."

The minister also spoke about the Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann strikes, which are due to continue this month. Earlier this month over a million people when workers went on strike as part of the dispute over privatisation of 10% of routes.

Minister Donohoe said the workers will get a fair deal and that the tendering of routes is about getting good value from public funds:

"In order [for further investment] to happen, we need to be sure that everyone's going to get good value... there's needs to be a degree of competitive tension.

"I'm not talking about privitisation [but] a select number of routes [and] how they can be tendered out to ensure we get the best value."

Progress has been made in negotiations, he said, and bus drivers will not be forced into switching employers.

You can listen to the full interview in the podcast below: