Date announcement expected later today

The taoiseach (Irish prime minister) is expected to ask Irish President Michael D Higgins to dissolve the current Dáil (lower house of the Irish parliament) later.

Under Irish law, once the Dáil is dissolved an election must be held within 30 days.

Earlier this week, Simon Harris indicated a preference for a polling day in the Republic of Ireland’s general election on 29 November.

He is the leader of Fine Gael and heads a coalition government alongside Fianna Fáil and the Green Party.

Harris, who is attending a summit in Hungary, will return to Dublin on Friday afternoon to make a statement at government buildings.

The taoiseach will then travel to the president’s residence – Áras an Uachtaráin – to request that Higgins dissolves the Dáil.

On Thursday, politicians who make up the 33rd Dáil met for the final time ahead of the snap election.

A general election must be called in the Republic of Ireland before the term ends on March 2025.

The taoiseach has faced persistent questions over the timing of the election for months, previously sidestepping requests to provide a definitive timeline.

However, on Wednesday, he signalled his hope for a polling day on 29 November saying: “There you go, clarity.”

He went on to say: “I look forward to the weeks ahead and to asking the people of Ireland for a mandate.”

The coalition government had agreed not to call an election until the Finance Bill had passed, enacting tax cuts which capitalised on surplus corporation tax incomes from global tech and pharma groups.

Three parties – Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and The Green Party – make up the coalition government in the Republic of Ireland.

Voters last went to the polls in February 2020 where Fianna Fáil, led by Micheál Martin, won the most seats (38).

But the party fell short of a majority and entered into negotiations with Fine Gael, who led the then-outgoing government, and the Green Party.

An agreement on a coalition deal was reached four months later, having been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, in June 2020.

As part of the agreement, the role of taoiseach was to be swapped between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael mid-way through the five-year term.

Martin held the top role until December 2022, before then-Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar took on the reigns.

Varadkar announced he was resigning from the role earlier this year. Harris then took over as taoiseach in April after winning the party’s leadership contest.

Sinn Féin, who recorded a historic result in the 2020 election after winning 37 seats, currently lead the opposition.

Its leader Mary Lou McDonald had described the outcome as “something of a revolution in the ballot box”.

A number of other parties, such as Labour, Social Democrats, People Before Profit, Aontú and independents, also make up the opposition.