Leo Varadkar has declared that "2024 is an election year" as he this weekend refuses to rule out an early return to the polls next year.
The Taoiseach was speaking at the Fine Gael special conference on rural development in Maynooth on Saturday afternoon when he set the election rumour mill into overdrive.
Fellow Fine Gael Cabinet colleague, Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney, had started the speculation earlier in the day when he told delegates that an election was not far away.
He said: "As we move towards the end of a third term in Government, we are up for fighting for a fourth.
"This party needs to use days like today to prepare for what is coming.
"Next year is a watershed moment in Irish politics.
"This party needs to take its place at the centre of that debate, and have confidence that our record in Government is something we can sell and be proud of."
The next general election is scheduled to be held at the end of February 2025, if, as the Taoiseach and Tanaiste keep telling the public, the Government will see out its term in full because they have so much work to do.
However, most political pundits believe an election will be called before that and Mr Varadkar has fed into this feverish speculation.
Constitutionally, Mr Varadkar, as Taoiseach, is the only person that has the power to call an election and he has the discretion to call it whenever he wants.
Speaking to reporters from the Fine Gael event at the Glenroyal hotel in Maynooth, Kildare, Mr Varadkar said: "Look, 2024 is an election year.
"We’re going to have local elections, we’re going to have European elections, we’re going to have an election for the Limerick Mayor, so that’s actually our focus.
"I don’t know when the date of the next general election is, that hasn’t been decided yet, but it will certainly be no later than March 2025 and there’s a presidential election as well in 2025.
"So actually, uniquely we’re going to have, after a period of no elections for quite a number of years, we’re going to have a lot of elections really in a 12 to 18-month period.
"So, we are preparing for those elections.
"We’ve almost all our candidates selected for the Locals, pretty much 70 per cent, and we’ll have all of them by Christmas.
"Just under 90 per cent of our councillors are running for re-election and then a huge number of really interesting new candidates, young, old, male, female, really impressive people... Then after that we’ll focus on plans for the general election."
The local and European elections polling day is set to be announced for sometime in May.
The Taoiseach added: "I’m 20 years in politics as of this year and I’ve been in the Dail for four terms and I’ve been through a few elections.
"Sometimes elections happen upon you, sometimes you get to call them and it is of course the prerogative of the Taoiseach to seek the dissolution of the Dail."
