Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar will officially be reappointed Taoiseach by Michael D Higgins today.
The formal ceremony will take place in the State Reception Room of Aras an Uachtarain where the President will sign the Warrant of Appointment and hand the Seal of the Taoiseach and the Seal of Government to the new Taoiseach.
The historic handover from Fianna Fail boss Micheal Martin will be the centrepiece of a long day of pageantry in Leinster House and Aras an Uachtarain. The day will also feature a limited Cabinet reshuffle, with Mr Varadkar scheduled to unveil his rejigged Cabinet to the Dail at 5pm.
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Mr Martin came home from his last EU Council meeting as Taoiseach late last night and met with the other two Coalition leaders, Mr Varadkar and Greens chief, Eamon Ryan. It was here, for the first time, that Mr Martin revealed to his colleagues what ministership he wishes to rake up today when he steps aside as Taoiseach.
This was part of the arrangement that saw Mr Martin go first as Taoiseach in the shared Taoiseach coalition deal. The indications last night were that Mr Martin was heading for Foreign Affairs, but there were also suggestions that he might take one of the education portfolios too, either Higher Education, or Education itself.
All will be revealed this afternoon when the new ministers are announced to the Dail. If Mr Martin goes to Foreign Affairs, the most likely changes will see Simon Coveney leave that brief and slot neatly into Enterprise, Trade & Employment, which will have become vacant when Mr Varadkar becomes Taoiseach.
Mr Martin will be the first visitor to the President’s residence in Phoenix Park when he goes there to tender his resignation this morning. He will then travel back across town to Leinster House where he will marshall his troops to vote for Mr Varadkar as the new Taoiseach.
This is part of the historic deal struck between Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Greens in June, which facilitated the first-ever rotating Taoiseach arrangement.
Mr Martin has completed close to two-and-a-half years in the top job and it is expected, all things going
well in the Coalition, that Mr Varadkar will serve as Taoiseach for about another two years. This will be his second term, having taken over from Enda Kenny in June 2017.
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