The Taoiseach has claimed the Dáil will not collapse before the Banking Inquiry is finished - but failed to explicitly rule out an early election.

Enda Kenny was speaking as the Dáil rubberstamped a request to extend the final deadline for the Banking Inquiry.

The inquiry now has until the end of January to publish its final report - but the inquiry will collapse if an election is called first.

In the Dail this evening the Taoiseach appeared to suggest the inquiry would be allowed to finish its work without the threat of an election.

“The house is not going to collapse, don’t worry,” he told Fianna Fáil leader Mícheal Martin.

“That’s normal business of the Dáíl and there’s no reason why it should not be granted and it has been granted, so there’s nothing unusual about that,” he added.

If the inquiry is to reach its conclusion on the new deadline it would rule out an election before February at the earliest.