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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Former Fine Gael Minister and Donegal TD Joe Hugh will vote for Simon Harris to become the next Taoiseach on Tuesday.
McHugh, who resigned the Fine Gael party whip in 2022 and has confirmed he will not contest the next General Election, has said that he will support Harris' quest to succeed Leo Varadkar.
Killybegs-based Independent TD Thomas Pringle has indicated that he will not be voting for Harris.
The Wicklow TD's name will be proposed to the Dáil on Tuesday, April 9, when deputies return following the Easter recess.
Harris' name will be put forward as the replacement for Varadkar, who caused a seismic shock when announcing his departure as Fine Gael leader last month.
Harris swiftly became the favourite to succeed him and the Wicklow TD has a clear run in his own party.
While Harris is meeting with Independents, who have voted with the Government in the past, the Taoiseach-in-waiting has insisted that he will not be doing 'deals' in exchange for a vote.
The support from Independence has strengthened the Government's numbers when ballots are cast.
In the summer of 2022, McHugh resigned the Fine Gael party whip. He went against Coalition colleagues in voting against a €2.7bn redress scheme for homeowners affected by defective concrete blocks.
“I am making this decision with a clear head,” he said at the time, adding that he “couldn’t in good conscience” vote for the proposal. Just two months earlier, McHugh confirmed his decision to stand down as a TD at the next General Election.
This week, the Enterprise Minister and deputy Fine Gael leader Simon Coveney confirmed that he too will step aside as a minister when Harris announces a reshuffle of the Cabinet next week.
Should Coveney also decide not to contest the next General Election, he will be the 13th of the Fine Gael TDs elected in 2020 not to run.
Sligo-Leitrim TD Marian Harkin will also vote against Harris on Tuesday, but former Fianna Fáil and now independent TD Marc MacSharry is set to back Harris' installation as Taoiseach.
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