Ministers believe they have just weeks left before election is called
It comes as Tánaiste Micheál Martin dismissed reports that Ministers had been asked to "clear the desks" and been asked to provide supplementary estimates early
Speculation about the election date amongst Ministers has gone into overdrive with many believing they have as little as two weeks to finish their work before an election is called.
It comes as Tánaiste Micheál Martin dismissed reports that Ministers had been asked to "clear the desks" and been asked to provide supplementary estimates early. This is when ministers seek extra funding for their departments.
Following the announcement of Budget 2025 on Tuesday, legislation now has to be put in place to make some of the changes in law. This includes the Finance Bill and the Social Welfare Bill.
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Ministers now strongly believe that the election will be called within a matter of weeks and will be held on November 15, November 22 or November 29.
One Minister told the Irish Mirror: "I think we have two weeks and we’re gone."
Another Minister also stated that they believe the election will be called sooner rather than later but could be impacted by Taoiseach Simon Harris’ travel plans.
He is expected to travel to the United States to visit US President Joe Biden in the White House in October. He will also attend a European Council meeting in Brussels in mid-October.
The Irish Mirror also understands that Enterprise Minister Peter Burke brought a memo to Cabinet on Tuesday detailing a Government Trade Mission to Poland. It is understood that this could take place in the final week of October.
One Minister pointed out that these arrangements could mean that Mr Harris might not be able to call the election until either late October or early November, which could push out the election date to late November.
Both the Irish Times and the Irish Examiner reported yesterday that Ministers had been asked to provide their supplementary estimates early.
This was dismissed by the Tánaiste, who has repeatedly stated that he believes the election should be in February.
"I wasn't aware of any acceleration of supplementary estimates," he said.
"I’ll also make the point that there is no acceleration of the Finance Bill.
"The Minister for Finance [Jack Chambers] certainly wasn't aware of what was contained in the Irish Times. He's going in accordance with the schedule. The publication of the bill is similar to last year. He's working in accordance with the schedule that has been laid down in respect of the Finance Bill.
"My own view is we have work to do in Government. We should complete our work programme, that involves the Finance Bill, the Social Protection Bill, but it also involves the Gambling Bill, the Mental Health Bill, the Planning Bill and the Defamation Bill.
"We have a tight schedule in the autumn to get that done. But we should get that legislative programme done, do our work, finish our work, and then we can leave it up to the people after that."
It is understood the Finance Bill will be brought to Cabinet next Tuesday and will then be debated in the Dáil.
Sources told the Irish Mirror that the Finance Committee has been advised that Minister Chambers and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe will "present" to them next Thursday. Minister Chambers has also advised that he will make himself available on November 6.
"That doesn’t indicate there will be an early election, but that timeline could change at any stage," one source said.
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