Party leaders to meet early next week to discuss exact date, though it is not certain there will be a decision
The general election is set for either November 29 or December 6, with the three party leaders to meet to discuss a date early next week.
Fine Gael has already drafted an election manifesto pitched at cutting taxes and fighting child poverty.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman fired the starting pistol yesterday, stating the end of November date as his preferred time for an election.
Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin added further fuel to the fire by saying a decision on a date would be made by the three party leaders next week.
While November 29 is favoured by the Greens, senior Fine Gael sources insist December 6 is also very much in play.
In its pitch to voters, Fine Gael will pledge to run prudent budget surpluses for the next half-decade, some of its senior manifesto designers told the Irish Independent.
The party will also pledge to abolish the TV licence fee, though the annual €160 contribution will remain the same in a different form.
Fine Gael is expected to have the strongest war chest going into the election, although many parties are expected to borrow for the campaign, which could be the costliest splurge to date.
Other elements of Fine Gael’s pitch to voters will be a new Department of Infrastructure for key projects.
It is understood Taoiseach Simon Harris had no knowledge that Mr O’Gorman was going to call for a November 29 election, though it may be the most likely date.
He is thought to be still weighing up waiting another week, until December 6, in which a second double Child Benefit payment would be made.
Inevitably, the Budget giveaways will amount to a parallel manifesto for the government parties, with all anxious to cash in their electoral chips while the generosity is fresh in the minds of the electorate.
The coalition leaders will meet on Monday to discuss the date of the election – but it is understood it may not emerge immediately thereafter.
Mr Harris is thought to want to pursue the throughput of more legislation next week before the Dáil takes a week’s recess for the Halloween break.
He will want to discuss the Finance Bill, putting “flesh on the bone” of Budget 2025 with Finance Minister Jack Chambers.
Last night, sources were downplaying any possibility of getting the legislation into the chamber next week for a guillotine.
Instead, the bill is due to be introduced on November 5, the date of the US general election. Passage of all stages that day would allow for an election on November 22.
But any delay would lead to it being staged on November 29 at the earliest.
The Taoiseach is thought not to have made up his mind between November 29 and December 6.
Events gathered pace yesterday as Mr O’Gorman told reporters in Dublin that it was his preference to hold the election before Christmas.
“I think the 29th is the date to go,” he said, adding that he had yet to discuss it with the other leaders of the Coalition.
Mr O’Gorman said: “Probably now is the time to give some degree of certainty to the Irish people in terms of the election date.
“I’ll be meeting the Coalition with the two coalition leaders on Monday. What I’ll be saying to them is that I think we need to give clarity.
“And I will be saying my preference is for a November election for the 29th.”
Fianna Fáil leader and Tánaiste Micheál Martin agreed that clarity was needed and said: “This is something that we can deal with next week.”
Mr Martin said it was important for legislative work to be done and the Finance Bill still needed to “be done properly”.
Mr O’Gorman added that late November would give time to get important pieces of legislation through the Oireachtas.
“It looks like we’ll get the Maternity Protection Bill, a bill I’ve been leading, to allow women with a serious illness to defer their maternity leave,” he said.
“We’ll get that through next week, along with the hate-crime legislation.
“I think we can get those done over the next three weeks, in early November, and my view is that the election should be November 29 – get it out of the way before Christmas.”
