The leaders of the three Government parties are due to discuss the timing of the general election at their weekly meeting this evening.
Both Fianna Fáil’s Micheál Martin and the Green Party’s Roderic O’Gorman have said they want clarity on the matter this week.
Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said the election will happen this year.
Speaking today, Mr Harris said that Mr O’Gorman did not go behind his back when he suggested 29 November as a date for the election and had done so publicly.
He added that, “without being prickly about it”, it is the constitutional prerogative of the Taoiseach to announce an election on a specific date.
Mr O’Gorman said he reserved the right as Green leader to hold a view on this.
The Taoiseach said that Fine Gael would contest the election as a stand-alone party without a transfer pact with the coalition parties.
How people vote is a matter for them, he added, but it is possible that “if people thought this Government’s doing a good job, they may wish to vote in that manner.”
“I think this Government works well together,” Mr Harris told reporters in Dublin.
“We are three different parties. It’s been built on mutual respect. It’s been built on policy. I hope these are two things that can be maintained across the political divide throughout the election.”
Meanwhile, speaking in Cork, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that he has consistently said that it would be ideal if the Government ran its course until February, but if substantial legislative work is done, he would not be opposed to an election later this year.
Additional reporting Jennie O’Sullivan, Mary Regan
