Taoiseach to confirm election date

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will today confirm the date for a general election - and signal the end of the longest-lasting government in the peacetime history of Ireland.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will today confirm the date for a general election - and signal the end of the longest-lasting government in the peacetime history of his Ireland.

But as the Dail, completed the final day of its present session last night, Mr Ahern hailed his period in office - which incorporated the best years of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger economic boomtimes - as ‘‘a golden period for the people of this country.’’

He also reported a breakfast time meeting this morning with Irish President Mary McAleese at her official residence in the Phoenix Park to request the parliamentary dissolution.

In endorsing his plea for a renewed mandate, the Taoiseach is sure to point to the part played by Dublin in working out the Good Friday agreement on Northern Ireland in 1998 and maintaining the tender peace process that has existed since then, and claim a number of other achievements.

All of those factors have combined to make Mr Ahern the strong opinion poll and bookmakers’ favourite to be returned as head of government after a poll widely expected to be on May 17.

According to most analysts, all that needs to be decided is the identity of the party that will join Fianna Fail back in power after a nationwide vote under the terms of the proportional representation electoral system.

But Irish elections do not always follow an entirely predictable path, and Fianna Fail - even though some forecasts have indicated they could be capable of securing a majority over all other parties for the first time since the 1980s - are unlikely to go into the contest with totally overwhelming confidence.

And signals from a variety of sources this week have indicated all might not be well on the economic front as Mr Ahern opts for a new election test.

Separate reports from the government’s own Economic and Social Research Institute and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation - have suggest a far from smooth ride lies ahead.

Those and other comments are sure to be seized upon as central campaign issues by the main opposition groups, Fine Gael and Labour, both with new leaders since the last election.

Fine Gael’s Michael Noonan, though failing to make much impact on Mr Ahern’s opinion survey lead since taking over more than a year ago, is poised to make an all-out assault on the government’s handling of the economy.

And Labour, under former Finance Minister Ruairi Quinn, are already pushing for reforms certain to upset employers’ organisations.

Meanwhile, the Progressive Democrats, junior partners in the coalition government have themselves signalled opposition to some government plans - centring proposals for a ‘‘Bertie Bowl’’ multi-million pound sports stadium.

A close watch, meanwhile, will be maintained on the performance of the IRA’s Sinn Feil allies, fighting an election in the Republic for the first time since senior members of their party took post-Good Friday agreement government positions in Northern Ireland.

At one stage, they looked capable of capturing a number of seats - to add to their single present Dail representation in Co Monaghan.

More recently, though, in the light of events like the alleged involvement of the IRA in Colombian affairs, Sinn Fein’s light has dimmed.

And all of the major parties have made it clear they will not go into government with Sinn Fein if Gerry Adams’s party emerges with balance-of-power status.

Perhaps significantly, Mr Ahern was opening his personal campaign today - after the Dublin launch of his party’s manifesto - in the North Kerry constituency, an area where the Sinn Fein threat is reckoned to be at its most potent.

For her part, Mr Harney was set to demonstrate her confidence by placing a bet on the Progressive Democrat’s prospects at a Dublin bookies.

:: For the first time, voters will be able to make their election choices electronically.

The press-button system is being tried out on an experimental basis in three constituencies - Dublin North and West and Meath.

In those areas, the results of the hi-tech count will be available hours after the polls closure.

Elsewhere, it will be business-as-usual, with the count not beginning until the day after the election, and the outcome taking many hours, if not days, to become finally clear.