Harris "really ambitious" Fine Gael can secure a second seat in East Meath in next election

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris who is set to become Ireland's youngest ever Taoiseach says he is hopeful that Fine Gael can secure a second seat in the the new four seat East Meath constituency in the next general election.

Meath East will have an extra TD at the next election after the Electoral Commission recommended that the number of deputies for the next Dáil be increased to 174, up from 160.

Meath East will become a four-seater constituency to reflect the rising population while Meath West will remain with three seats.

Harris made the comments at a breakfast meeting with Fine Gael members in support of local election candidate Sharon Tolan at the City North Hotel in Gormanston.

Also in attendance was Meath East TD and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and newly announced candidate for the European elections Nina Carberry.

Harris said:

"We are really ambitious about that. We have an incredible minister and constituency TD, Helen McEntee who works night and day to deliver for the people of Meath, nationally and locally and has a proud track record of delivering and a work ethic second to none on the ground.

"We have a lot of very ambitious people who would like to join Minister McEntee. We'd like to see if we can increase our Dail representation but the first challenge for the Fine Gael party in Meath and Louth will obviously be in June when we will seek to ask the people to elect as many Meath and Louth councillors to Meath and Louth Co Councils and see where that takes us."

Speaking about her decision not to run for leadership of Fine Gael, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said:

"That is a decision I made some time ago, that if this was to come up soon enough it wasn't going to be for me but I am really pleased to support my colleague Simon Harris.

"He has been a colleague for a long time and a good friend, I think he will bring something really new and energetic to the role and as a party we are fully behind him."

Simon Harris announced his candidature on Thursday night after receiving a series of endorsements from within the Fine Gael parliamentary party.

Speaking at the event in Gormanston he described the last week as a “whirlwind” and said he is “overwhelmed and honoured” by the level of support he has received from party colleagues.

“I am overwhelmed and honoured by the level of support that I’ve received from so many colleagues, including Helen, over the last number of hours, whether they were Ministers, ministers of state, TDs, Senators, MEPs, councillors, council candidates, grassroots members,” he said.

“To each and every one of them, I want to thank them, I am humbled, and my commitment to them and my commitment to the people of this country, if given the honour of serving, is that I will give this my all and I will work day and night," he added.

“I believe politics is about delivery. It’s about people. Sometimes politics in Ireland has gone a bit too presidential, a bit too personal.

“Politics is about actually getting things done for people. In many ways, I’m an accidental politician. I ended up in politics when my brother was born with autism and I stood as a moody teenager, and started campaigning in Wicklow, saying there has to be a better way of providing educational supports for people with autism.

“I know how politics can deliver for people and, if given the honour of serving, I want to take that can-do approach to getting things done, to renewing our party, to injecting a level of energy and, to anybody who thinks this party is tired, to anyone who thinks this party lacks energy, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

The Minister for Further and Higher Education said while he is not ruling anything out, a general election is not his priority.

He said that his priority was the election of a Fine Gael leader, and that a "general election is not in any manner or means on my mind".

"The people of this country want us to get on with their business," he said.

Asked about his plans to reshuffle Fine Gael ministers, Mr Harris indicated it was too early to consider any changes saying he would wait until the process to elect a new leader had been completed.

“We have a very talented parliamentary party. I’m really looking forward to having the opportunity to showcase those talents in the coming days and weeks. That’s for another day.”