The Irish Parliament has been dissolved for a General Election.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said it had been the honour of his life to serve in the role, and he believed the time was right to seek a new mandate.
President Michael D Higgins formally dissolved the Dail parliament to mark the beginning of the Irish election campaign.
Fine Gael leader Simon Harris travelled from Government Buildings in Dublin to the residence of Mr Higgins at Aras an Uachtarain in the city’s Phoenix Park on Friday afternoon to request the move.
It brought to an end the four-and-a-half-year lifespan of the historic Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Green Party coalition government
A relatively short three-week campaign has commenced before polling day on Friday November 29.
Mr Harris called for a “safe and respectful campaign for all politicians and all their teams” and urged the Irish people to value their vote and use their voice.
After the 2020 general election delivered an inconclusive result, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, two parties forged from opposing sides of Ireland’s Civil War of the 1920s, agreed to set aside almost a century of animosity and share power.
The Green Party joined the administration as a junior partner.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin held the position of taoiseach for the first half of the mandate, with Fine Gael’s Leo Varadkar taking over in December 2022.
Mr Varadkar resigned from the role earlier this year and was succeeded by party colleague Mr Harris.
Speaking to media in Budapest on Friday morning as he attended a meeting of EU leaders, Mr Harris said he will approach the election campaign with “determination, humility and a real hope that it doesn’t descend into tit for tat”.
Emphasising that as Fine Gael leader he takes nothing for granted, Mr Harris described his team of candidates, which includes a large number of new faces, as a mix of experience and energy.
He highlighted housing, immigration and childcare as key issues for the Irish people but also urged a broadening of the political debate given world events.
“Up until now, 90% of the debate in Ireland has been about how you’re going to spend the money available to the Government today… dependent on being able to spend that money is being able to generate it, is being able to keep jobs, keep investment, work at an EU level and be prepared for what could be a transatlantic trade shock,” he said.
“That’s why I’m pleased going into this campaign that we have set aside money. We used to be ridiculed for this… well this is exactly why we have the buffer that is there, is a transatlantic shock or indeed any other shock to our economy, my children will never have to experience the austerity that our generation did.”
Tanaiste Mr Martin joined some of his party’s election candidates in Dublin before the formal dissolution.
Speaking outside Leinster House, he said the coalition had “weathered many significant storms and shocks”.
He said the coming five years would be challenging for the Irish economy as he highlighted the impact of conflicts around the world and the potential for a shift in US trade policy.
“The greatest threat to the Irish economy is external, and we need experience and we need leadership that has already demonstrated its capacity to weather significant events and shocks to lead us through the next challenging five years – and economically, it will be challenging,” he said.
Mr Martin insisted he was not concerned at the prospect of having to debate with his erstwhile partner in government, Mr Harris, during the election.
“Debate is the lifeblood of democracy and elections,” he said.
“I look forward to the debate because Fianna Fail will be putting forward its priorities, its policies, as we did in the last election.
“We spent a lot of time last time negotiating a programme for government, so I am looking forward to the debates, no worries at all.”
Mr Martin again made clear he would not countenance a coalition with Sinn Fein after the election.
Since the 2020 poll, the coalition in Dublin has had to grapple with the same global shocks that confronted many governments around the world – the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ireland has also experienced a surge in migration numbers in the last two years, in large part due to tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
There have also been increased rates of asylum seekers arriving from elsewhere in the world.
This, coupled with pre-existing housing shortages, has placed unprecedented strain on state accommodation provision, leading to tensions and disputes in some areas over plans to repurpose hotels and other buildings into facilities for international protection applicants.
The rise of the migration issue up the political agenda has come at a time when the Government grapples with what it has acknowledged is a crisis in housing.
Despite the coalition’s efforts to increase the number of state-built homes and promote policies to support renters and first-time buyers, record homelessness figures are still on the rise and house prices and rental costs remain stubbornly high as demand consistently outweighs supply in many areas, particularly in the capital Dublin.
To the Government’s critics, the housing crisis appears paradoxical when set against booming public finances, with the state’s coffers buoyed each year by billions of euro in tax receipts from multinational giants who have set up bases in Ireland.
The same argument is made when it comes to parts of the country’s health service, such as the lengthy waits endured by children requiring spinal surgery.
The Government parties say real progress has been delivered in housing and healthcare during a mandate that ends with the country’s finances in rude health.
Sinn Fein won the popular vote in 2020 but a failure to run enough candidates meant it did not secure sufficient seats in the Dail to give it a realistic chance of forming a government.
The main opposition goes into the election on the back of a difficult few weeks, after intense criticism over its handling of several controversies related to allegations against party members.
In the last 12 months the party has also seen its ratings dip significantly, dropping from front runner to leave it trailing behind Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in a series of recent polls.
