A new leader of Fine Gael could emerge as soon as next week though the party has cautioned it will not be rushing into any decision.
After a lengthy meeting of the parliamentary party today - the first since the General Election humiliation - Fine Gael chairman, Mr Padraig McCormack, said two days had been set aside next week to discuss the position of leader.
He said that it may not be necessary to elect a leader if full agreement can be reached at the meeting on who the new leader should be. "There may be consensus but if we don’t get that we’ll proceed to electing a leader," Mr McCormack said.
He described the mood of the meeting as "determined" and "enthusiastic" saying the members were more concerned with looking forward rather than dwelling on the past.
However, he said the meeting discussed the General Election. "The main problem was we were unable to offer an alternative government to Fianna Fáil when Labour wouldn’t agree a voting deal," Mr McCormack said.
The meeting expressed concern about the rule requiring the leader to be elected every two years. "The two-year rule could present a difficulty ... It would be impossible to have a leader who could have stand to stand after two years," Mr McCormack said.
He added that it could be possible to hold an ardfheis if it were needed to change the rule before the leadership election.
While the possibility of a new leader emerging next week exists, the Fine Gael chairman said there was "a strong view that the new Senate should be having a say". Senate elections take place on July 17th, which could mean a lengthy period as caretaker leader for Mr Noonan, who agreed to follow the party’s wishes on the matter.
The parliamentary party members will be taking soundings from party grass roots over who the new leader should be before next week’s meeting.
As yet no-one has put their name forward for the position of leader.