Election should be on November 29th, O’Gorman says

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The election should be held on November 29th, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman has said.

Speaking on Friday, Mr O’Gorman said it was his preference to hold the election before Christmas.

He said: “I think the 29th is the date to go.”

 

Mr O’Gorman said he will be telling the other two coalition leaders on Monday about the need to “give clarity” to the public.

The Green Party leader said: “I’ve been out on the doors even just last night and I’m starting to get the sense that people are getting a little tired of the ‘will they, won’t they’.

“Probably now is the time to give some degree of certainty to the Irish people in terms of the election date.”

He added: “My preference is for a November election, on November 29th. I think that gives us the opportunity to get those final pieces of legislation through.”

Earlier this week, Taoiseach Simon Harris said he is considering what date would be “the best interest for Ireland” while refusing to be drawn on whether that would be before Christmas.

The Fine Gael leader had previously said the Government should “go full term” before an election is called.

While it is the constitutional prerogative of the Taoiseach to decide the date of the general election, Mr Harris has said he will consult the coalition leaders in advance of any announcement.

On Wednesday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin appeared more open to the possibility of a pre-Christmas election if the Finance Bill is passed.

Mr Martin said his view remained that the Government has “work to complete” but added that the gap between November and February “isn’t huge”.