Fine Gael, Labour reach pact to form coalition in Ireland

DUBLIN - The two parties that topped last month's legislative elections in Ireland, Fine Gael and Labour, have agreed to form a coalition government, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said on Sunday.

"I am happy to tell you that we have concluded an agreement," Kenny told RTE state radio, adding: "Some of the final details are now being worked out for presentation to both parties."

The Feb 25 election has redrawn the political map of Ireland as voters hammered Fianna Fail, the party of outgoing Premier Brian Cowen which had dominated Irish politics for 80 years, three months after it agreed an EU-IMF 85 billion euro ($115 billion) bailout, which many Irish see as a humiliation.