Taoiseach 'hopes' General Election will be on 29 November

Taoiseach Simon Harris has confirmed it is his "intention" to call the General Election on Friday - saying the likely polling day will be Friday 29 November.

Speaking on RTE's Six One programme, the Fine Gael leader said he had waited until now because he wanted the Finance Bill, which enacts the Budget changes, to be passed.

That bill was passed in the Dáil last night by a margin of 75 votes to 55.

"It is my intention to seek the dissolution of the Dáil on Friday, and I hope we have polling day on 29 November," the Taoiseach said, before saying "there you go, clarity".

He said he is looking forward to "putting our case to the people".

Tánaiste and Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin had earlier said he believes the General Election would be called on Friday.

The Taoiseach will tomorrow travel to an EU Council meeting in Budapest, Hungary, which will continue into Friday.

Speculation has been rife in recent days that the election could be called either tonight, tomorrow or Friday.

Coalition a 'tried, tested and failed govt' - Cairns

Earlier, in the Dáil, the Coalition was accused of being a "tried, tested and failed Government" when it comes to delivering on disability and housing.

In sharp exchanges, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said recent squabbles between the Coalition parties amounted to a "ridiculous end to a disastrous Government" in which people have "lost hope".

Deputy Cairns criticised Tánaiste Micheál Martin for stating the country had turned a corner on housing, when instead of turning a corner the country had reached a dead end.

She added that an average €85,000 increase in house prices in just four years is not a success, but was actually a betrayal of those wanting to buy their own homes.

Ms Cairns said the new Cabinet sub-committee on disability, created by Taoiseach Simon Harris, had "achieved nothing" and that services are worse than when the Government came into office and people with a disability had "no expectation" of getting critical support.

She said: "The only thing that's guaranteed is waiting lists and excuses." Deputy Cairns said the only thing that would deliver change was a full Ministry for Disability, which her party advocates.

In reply, the Taoiseach defended the Coalition saying it had steered the country through Covid; created jobs; was giving people back some of their own money in Budget 2025; and delivering for children via increases in child benefit, free school books and hot school meals.

In an apparent references to Donald Trump's pending confirmation as US President, the Taoiseach said when the a risk of transatlantic trade shock looming, it is good to know that his children will not have to live through austerity because of the Government's prudence in putting billions of euro into saving funds.

He defended the new Cabinet sub-committee, saying it had led to Ireland acceding to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Taoiseach said the suggestion of a Ministry for Disability had merit and he would "like to see how it works."

Ms Cairns said it was "brazen" for Fine Gael to claim it was providing solutions to people with disability, when parents were being forced to drive more than two hours to special schools and there were "threadbare services."

The Taoiseach replied that his mother drove for two hours to get his brother to a school, and he did not need "any lecture from you about lived experience."

Sinn Féin accuses Govt of squandering public money

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil squander the public's money and then just shrug their shoulders at people's anger, the Sinn Féin leader has claimed in the Dáil.

Mary Lou McDonald again criticised the €9 million allocated for mobile phone pouches for school pupils, which she said would require an extra €2 million in top-up spending every year.

She told the Dáil that she had not met one teacher who supports this idea and the money should have been spent on children's mental health services.

The Taoiseach, facing questions for the last time in this the 33rd Dáil, asked Sinn Féin why is not halting the spending of money on phone pouches in Northern Ireland where the Executive is also moving to purchase them.

Mr Harris said several schools have already publicly stated that they have benefitted from this initiative.

It is €20 per student for their mental health if the school wants it, he said.

Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane, Paul Cunningham