No surprises over election date, says Taoiseach

Taoiseach Simon Harris has said the general election will happen "within the next number of short weeks", but did not indicate what date that will be.

Speaking on his way into this morning's Cabinet meeting, he said people will be told at least three weeks in advance of it being held.

He said it will not take place until the Finance Bill is "sorted first" along with other work that needs to be done.

The committee stage of the bill will commence on 5 November.

The Taoiseach said he has a good idea of the date of the election and it will take place on a Friday.

The leaders of the three Government parties agreed last night that the general election will take place in 2024.

Mr Harris said the meeting was "very good" and that he has always said he will consult on the best date to hold the general election and he would not be taking anyone by surprise.

He also said he is not concerned that 18 Fine Gael TDs are not contesting the next election, adding that every constituency has strong candidates and in every election lots of new people are elected.

He said these candidates are not new to their communities, but acknowledged that politics is "much more intense now".

Meanwhile, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said that the passage of the Finance Bill will determine a lot about the general election date as he outlined his prediction.

"I think it could either be the 29th of November or the 6th of December," he said.

He acknowledged that there is "a significant number of deputies opting out" of the general election and he described the "loss" of Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill stating he would not be running.

However, he said that also creates opportunities for others and said there is always change before every election.

He believes there is a stronger team of candidates now than they had in 2020 with high quality people coming on board.

Mr Martin said politics is "perhaps more challenging now" as he referenced the stress and strain that social media can have on people.

However, he said it is important "to keep balance in perspective" when commenting on political life generally.

He outlined the importance of attracting younger people and those with particular skillsets into politics.

Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman has said while the Taoiseach has yet to confirm the date for the election, there is clarity that it will happen this year and that "allows everyone to plan as such".

He said his party will be setting out clearly the management of the immigration system as it is one element of their election campaign.

"From my own experience out canvassing it is coming up a lot less as an issue now than maybe it was the first half of this year," he said.

However, Mr O'Gorman said it is an issue that the next government will have to address and added that his party has "set out very clearly" its approach to processing applications and accommodation

He accused many of the opposition parties of "being vague" on this and said he thinks the vagueness of their policies will be "found out during an election campaign".