New Fine Gael leader and presumptive taoiseach Simon Harris has signalled no snap general election and that the Government will run its full term until early next year.
Speaking following the formal announcement of his unopposed election at a party convention in Athlone, Mr Harris said he would meet Fine Gael Ministers in the Cabinet to set priorities for what can be delivered in their areas in the lifetime of the Government.
In a speech to party activists and members following his election on Sunday, Mr Harris said that under his leadership, Fine Gael would stand for supporting businesses, especially small businesses and for making work pay.
He also said the party “stands for law and order, on the side of An Garda Síochána, where our streets are safe and crime is never allowed go unchecked”.
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He also said that he would seek “to move from an emergency response to the migration crisis to a more planned, sustainable model, to a fair and firm system when it comes to migration”
Speaking later to reporters he said people in Ireland were compassionate but also wanted to know that the immigration system worked. “We need to move beyond the emergency response to telling Irish people, what’s the plan for migration and accommodation policy,” he said.
People who came to Ireland to seek asylum should “get a yes/no answer quicker”, he said. “People who have a right to stay should be welcomed, should be integrated. People who don’t have a right to stay should be asked to leave.”
Mr Harris’s move to scotch speculation of a general election this year by insisting that the Government will run its full term to the spring of 2025 will please his Coalition partners in Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, who were against the rumoured preference of Leo Varadkar for an election later this year.
“I would like to see this Government going full term,” said Mr Harris. “That is my intention”.
He also said that he had spoken to the Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan by phone earlier and looked forward to meeting them in the coming days. He said he wanted to establish a relationship of trust with the two men.
“Trust and mutual respect is key for this Government,” he said.
Simon Harris takes the reins of a party in trouble
Mr Harris also dismissed suggestions that the Dáil — which is in recess for two weeks for the Easter holidays — should be recalled earlier to facilitate his election as Taoiseach. He will attend the Fine Gael ardfheis the weekend after Easter and the Dáil will meet the following Tuesday, April 9th, when he is expected to be elected Taoiseach.
Mr Harris will also have to pick his ministerial team before the Dáil reconvenes, already a subject of intense speculation in political circles. Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney said on Sunday he would be contesting the next general election, reducing the chances of a demotion for him.
[ Simon Coveney says he will run for Fine Gael again in next general electionOpens in new window ]
Mr Harris said that he would outline in more detail policy priorities when he delivers his keynote ardfheis address, but speculation is already mounting that the legislation on hate speech and hate crime, stalled in the Seanad, could be amended significantly. One of the party’s senior backbenchers, Michael Ring, said on Sunday that the legislation should be scrapped and the party should return to its “core values”.
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