Taoiseach to request President dissolves 33rd Dáil

Taoiseach Simon Harris will travel to Áras an Uachtaráin this afternoon to request that President Michael D Higgins dissolves the current Dáil.

It is expected the request will be granted, and trigger a three-week general election campaign ahead of voting on 29 November.

Mr Harris, who is in Hungary attending a European Political Community Summit, will return to Dublin later today and set in motion a General Election campaign for the 34th Dail.

The Taoiseach will make a statement at Government Buildings around mid-afternoon, before travelling to Áras an Uachtaráin to request that President Higgins dissolves the current Dáil.

It is expected the Fine Gael leader will then immediately hit the election campaign trail in Dublin.

Last night, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald declared that her party is the only option for voters who want a government without Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.

She said the electorate will have an historic choice - a left-wing coalition led by Sinn Féin, or the way it has always been with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael in power, who she branded 'Tweedledum' and 'Tweedledee'.

Campaigners ask President Higgins to keep Dáil in situ

Meanwhile, President Higgins has been asked not to dissolve the Dáil by campaigners who want the Occupied Territories Bill to be passed by the Oireachtas.

The bill would ban trade between Ireland and Israel's illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

In a letter sent to Áras an Uachtaráin by the Mothers Against Genocide group, the President has been asked to use his presidential powers to keep the Dáil in situ.

Spokesperson Clare O'Connor said in the letter: "Our Government has blocked and stalled this bill at every turn. Last week the offer of the opposition's Dáil speaking time to facilitate the enactment of this crucial bill was refused. The International Court of Justice advisory opinion in July makes it very clear that Ireland is compelled to act now.

"We hope dear President Higgins that you can be the final contributor to getting the Occupied Territories Bill enacted now," she added.

Last Tuesday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin insisted that the Government is "prepared to go the full distance" on the Occupied Territories Bill, including through the European courts.

However, the Minister for Foreign Affairs warned the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence that the bill's prospects may be harmed were the Government to give the committee the legal advice it has received.

He added that he believes that the bill could be enacted, but not quickly.

"So, it can be done, we're satisfied - and we're going to do it, and we're going to progress this," he said.

"But it's not something that can be done in a short space of time," he added.