Irish Parliament dissolved for general election

The Irish Parliament was dissolved to allow for a general election.

Chief Prime Minister Simon Harris said he had been honored to serve in the role and believed it was time to seek a new mandate.

President Michael D. Higgins officially dissolved the Dail Parliament to mark the start of the Irish election campaign.

Fine Gael leader Simon Harris traveled from Government House in Dublin to Mr Higgins’ Áras an Uachtaráin residence in the city’s Phoenix Park on Friday afternoon to ask for the move.

It ended four and a half years of the historic coalition government of Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party.

The relatively short three-week campaign began ahead of polling day on Friday 29 November.

Mr Harris called for a “safe and respectful campaign for all politicians and all their teams” and urged the Irish people to value and use their vote.

After the 2020 general election was inconclusive, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, two parties formed from opposing sides of the Irish civil war in the 1920s, agreed to abandon nearly a century of feuding and share power.

The Green Party entered the administration as a junior partner.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin served as chairman for the first half of the mandate, with Fine Gael’s Leo Varadkar taking over in December 2022.

Mr Varadkar stepped down from the role earlier this year and was replaced by party colleague Mr Harris.

Speaking to the media in Budapest on Friday morning as he attended a meeting of EU leaders, Mr Harris said he would approach the election campaign with “determination, humility and a real hope that it does not devolve into tit-for-tat”.

Stressing that as leader of Fine Gael he takes nothing for granted, Mr Harris described his candidate team, which includes a large number of new faces, as a mixture of experience and energy.

He stressed that housing, immigration and childcare were key issues for the Irish people, but also called for the policy debate to be broadened to take account of world events.

“Until now, 90% of the debate in Ireland has been about how you are going to spend the money that the government has today… the ability to spend that money determines the ability to generate it, the ability to save jobs, maintain investment, work at EU level and be prepared for what could become a transatlantic trade shock,” he said.

“That’s why I’m glad to be part of this campaign because we have committed money. We used to be ridiculed for this… well, that’s why we have the buffer that exists, this is a transatlantic shock or any other shock to our economy, my children will never have to experience the kind of austerity that our generation has experienced.”

Tánaiste Martin joined some of his party’s candidates in the Dublin elections before the official dissolution.

Speaking outside Leinster House, he said the coalition had “survived many serious storms and shocks”.

He said the next five years would be challenging for the Irish economy as he highlighted the impact of conflicts around the world and the possibility of changes in US trade policy.

“The biggest threat to the Irish economy is external and we need experience and leadership that has already demonstrated its ability to withstand significant events and shocks to take us through the next difficult five years – and economically it will not be easy,” he said . – he said.

Mr Martin insisted he was not worried about the prospect of debating his former government partner Mr Harris during the election.

“Debate is the lifeblood of democracy and elections,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to the debate because Fianna Fail will put forward its priorities and its policies, just as we did at the last election.

“Last time we spent a lot of time discussing the government’s program, so I’m looking forward to the debate, don’t worry.”

Mr Martin has again made it clear he will not support a coalition with Sinn Féin after the election.

Since the 2020 poll, the coalition in Dublin has had to contend with the same global shocks that many governments around the world have faced – the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ireland has also seen a surge in migrant numbers over the past two years, thanks in large part to tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.

There has also been an increase in the number of asylum seekers arriving from other countries around the world.

This, coupled with a pre-existing housing shortage, has created an unprecedented strain on government housing provision, leading to tension and controversy in some areas over plans to repurpose hotels and other buildings into facilities for international protection seekers.

The inclusion of migration on the political agenda comes as the government grapples with what it recognizes as a housing crisis.

Despite the coalition’s efforts to increase the number of publicly built homes and promote policies to support renters and first-time buyers, record rates of homelessness are still rising and home prices and rental costs remain stubbornly high as demand continually exceeds demand in many areas. offer. , especially in the capital city of Dublin.

To the government’s critics, the housing crisis seems paradoxical when contrasted with surging public finances, with public coffers swelled by billions of euros each year in tax revenue from the multinational giants that have established bases in Ireland.

The same argument is made when it comes to some aspects of the country’s health care system, such as the long waits endured by children needing spine surgery.

Government parties say real progress has been made on housing and health care during a mandate that ends with the country’s finances deteriorating.

Sinn Féin won the popular vote in 2020, but failure to field enough candidates meant it did not win enough daily seats to give it a realistic chance of forming a government.

The main opposition heads to the polls after a difficult few weeks following sharp criticism over its handling of a series of controversies surrounding allegations against party members.

The party’s ratings have also fallen significantly over the past 12 months, slipping from its leadership position and falling behind Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in a series of recent polls.