Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said that the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat Government would continue in coalition if it secured a majority.
"I think that if this Government can get the numbers, it will continue for the next five years," he said.
He was responding to questions from journalists on Tánaiste Michael McDowell's remarks that he would be reflecting on the ongoing controversy surrounding Mr Ahern's personal finances.
Speaking in Longford, where he was campaigning, Mr Ahern said he had met Mr McDowell on Wednesday and would meet him several times during the election campaign.
They had been talking about crime policy.
"Obviously people will make a decision on the whole lot of us and make a decision on our whole programme to date," he added.
Mr McDowell had been asked at a PD event in Dublin whether he could agree a new coalition with the Fianna Fáil leader without clarification on Mr Ahern's personal finances.
Mr McDowell replied: "There is material now coming into the public domain that changes the position. I believe that there are a number of things on which I would want to reflect. I don't want to say more than that at this stage."
Asked if he could "put a timescale on those reflections", Mr McDowell replied: "No, I am not going to do that. I have a busy schedule in this election campaign and I want to reflect on the situation."
Mr Ahern was asked to comment on yesterday's report that the Mahon Tribunal had expressed its concern that Manchester businessman Michael Wall may have been acting as his nominee when he bought his house in Drumcondra and that Mr Wall lost £15,800 on the sale.
Mr Ahern again repeated that the only issues put to him by the tribunal were whether he got money from the developer Owen O'Callaghan, and whether he thwarted the development of a shopping centre in Blanchardstown, Dublin.
"The answer is emphatically 'no'," he said.
He said that there were many people in the State renting and buying houses.
They bought houses abroad, holiday homes and caravans, and no tribunal was asking about them.
"Why is The Irish Times interested in what Mr Wall did in the sale of the house? No tribunal is interested in that. I do not know why The Irish Times is interested in it," Mr Ahern said.
Earlier, the Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea, said the Irish people could be "sleepwalked" into an alternative government because, he claimed, the media focus on Bertie Ahern's financial affairs is diverting from the real issues.
At the launch of Fianna Fáil's policy document on crime, Mr O'Dea said leaking tribunal documents was "illegal".
When challenged by RTÉ reporter Charlie Bird, Mr O'Dea said: "You can divert attention all you like. The media are doing what the tribunal ruled was unfair."
He said the only mention of the Taoiseach's finances on the doorsteps was the media coverage of it.
"People are asking me, 'What the hell is going on? We've an election here, the future of the country is at stake', and yet the media is taking up with some 30 grand that somebody allegedly got or didn't get or got in some way or didn't get in some other way 15 years ago," he said.
At the same briefing, the Minister for Social Affairs, Séamus Brennan, said the people of Ireland knew Bertie Ahern was not interested in private gain.
"He is only interested in public service, representing people, making their lives better and promoting social inclusion," he said.