Simon Harris clear that a ‘rotating taoiseach’ will be part of next government

A rotating taoiseach arrangement will be part of the next Government, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris has insisted.

Mr Harris also said it is “possible” there will be a Government by January 22, adding that formation talks have been “going really well”.

The outcome of the 2020 election saw Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael enter a coalition on the basis that the holder of the position of taoiseach would be exchanged midway through the term.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin took the role for the first half of the mandate, with Leo Varadkar taking over in December 2022.

Mr Harris succeeded Mr Varadkar when he resigned from the role last year.

In the November 2024 election, Fianna Fáil secured 10 more seats than Fine Gael.

'Very clear'

Asked if Fine Gael would enter Government without a return to the rotating taoiseach arrangement, Mr Harris said: “There will be a rotating taoiseach in the next Government, and I think that’s been very clear probably since the day or two after the election.”

Mr Harris said the arrangement had worked well in the previous Government.

“I believe many hundreds of thousands of people in this country have voted for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to provide [a] stable Government for the next five years, and for myself and Micheál Martin to lead that Government."

Since the November 29 election, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have been holding intensive talks with each other, as well as other parties and Independents, on forming a Government.

The Dáil is due to return on January 22.

Mr Harris said forming a Government before then would be “a little bit tight”, but he added: “People can work hard, work later, work longer, we’re doing that, and work through the weekend.”

The Fine Gael leader said forming a Government within eight weeks of the election is “not an extraordinary length of time” when the Christmas break is taken into consideration.

Largely agreed

Certain key areas of the programme of Government are understood to have been largely agreed between the two parties — although talks on disability, justice, and climate continue.

Mr Harris said he is in regular contact with Mr Martin, sometimes engaging several times a day. He said there are “three pillars of work” for the talks — policy, government structure, and ratification among party members.

Mr Harris said “intensive” work between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil negotiators is continuing, identifying areas of agreement and disagreement on policy.

He added that the talks on government structure are not about personnel areas, but rather how it is set up to tackle priority areas.

“Let’s take disability as an example, where both parties to the talks — and I think the people of Ireland have said they want, expect, and need better in this area — ask how do you structure government departments to deliver that?”

He also identified other areas for restructuring, including co-ordination on migration and energy.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are just shy of forming a majority by themselves and are expected to rely on Independents to make up the numbers. The regional Independents have put forward eight TDs who are willing to negotiate as a group.