The leaders of the Coalition parties will discuss the timing of the general election on Monday evening with expectations growing that a date at the end of November – or possibly early December – will be chosen as polling day.
November 29th was suggested on Friday by the Green Party leader, Roderic O’Gorman, much to the annoyance of Fine Gael, who pointed out it was the Taoiseach’s constitutional prerogative to call the election.
A spokesman said that the Taoiseach would engage with Coalition leaders before seeking a dissolution of the Dáil and triggering an election, adding that the Taoiseach “has consistently stated he will not do that through the media” – widely seen as a rebuke to his Government colleague.
While the calling of an election is the Taoiseach’s responsibility, it is the Minister for Housing, Fianna Fáil’s Darragh O’Brien, who will have responsibility for setting the date and deciding on either a three- or four-week campaign.
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The Coalition leaders will discuss the necessary arrangements for rushing through necessary legislation in the remaining weeks of the Dáil. The Finance Bill – which gives effect to many budget measures – will need to be pushed through while other essential legislation includes the Appropriations Bill and legislation providing a three-year budget for the Houses of the Oireachtas, which also must be passed by year end.
That Bill was approved by the Government earlier this month. It includes provision for €565 million for the operation of the Oireachtas from 2025 to 2027, an increase of more than 20 per cent over the three years 2022-2024.
A series of supplementary estimates – essentially top-ups to the budgets of several Government departments – must also be passed in Dáil votes.
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There is also a technical Bill necessary to underpin the State’s private health insurance market which must be passed before the end of the year.
The Dáil sits next week and then rises for a week for the midterm break, returning on Tuesday, November 5th. Senior political sources ruled out cancelling the midterm break, meaning that all remaining Bills that are essential will have to be passed in the days after November 5th if there is to be a November 29th election. Sources say this is possible with extensive use of the guillotine – a parliamentary motion that ends the debate and requires an immediate vote.
The last possible date for the dissolution of the Dáil to allow for a November 29th election is Friday, November 8th. With so much legislation to pass through the Oireachtas in such a short time, some sources think that the election date could slip into December.
A senior Fianna Fáil figure suggested December 6th as a potential date, noting it was the anniversary of the signature of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Meanwhile, a senior Fine Gael figure said it was now “almost guaranteed” that the election would not be held on the 29th, due to Mr O’Gorman’s suggestion, and would not be announced next week. Other sources said that they did not expect any announcement on Monday, but that the leaders would look at the practicalities of clearing the decks for an election.
Speaking in Cork on Friday afternoon, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he agreed there was a need for clarity, adding: “This is something we can deal with next week.”
However, he said he was “not going to get into specific dates”.
“The bottom line is you either have it at the end of November or the beginning of December,” he said, adding that February was the other option. Asked if Mr O’Gorman had overstepped the mark by going ahead of him and Mr Harris, he said “Politics is politics… I’m not too excited about it.”
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