Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney go head to head in first hustings

The race to be the next taoiseach will heat up this evening as rivals Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney go head-to-head in the first of four nights of hustings for the Fine Gael leadership contest.

Dragons’ Den star Gavin Duffy will oversee proceedings and put questions to the two ministers in front of an audience made up of members, councillors, the general public and media.

While the four debates in Dublin, Carlow, Galway and Cork, will not be televised, they will be streamed live on Fine Gael’s Facebook page.