Harris says there is 'no vacancy' when asked about Fine Gael leadership ambitions

Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar with Minister for Higher and Further Education, Simon Harris. Picture: Don Moloney

Minister for Further and Higher Education said there is "no vacancy" when asked about speculation he might be interested in the leadership in Fine Gael now or in the future.

Speaking in Killarney today, Mr Harris said Fine Gael had "an excellent" leader and Taoiseach in Leo Varadkar

"All of us in public life try to play leadership roles in different ways. Any role I have been asked to play, I have always tried to do my very best," Mr Harris said, listing his service in the departments of further and higher education, health and justice. 

"But there is no leadership question within the Fine Gael party. None whatsoever," he said.

It is a statement of fact, the party would like to do better than they are doing, ‘but opinion polls come and go.’

Just like the Taoiseach, Mr Harris said he was remaining "resolutely focused" on the issue of delivery and the key challenges and how they could deliver.

Mr Harris said he has never hidden his ambition — but "there is no vacancy".

Asked about his apparent popularity in rural Ireland, Mr Harris said people wanted to see "an absolutely relentless focus" on delivery now from their politicians and their political leaders at the moment. 

They did not want to see any sort of "naval gazing" or looking beyond the challenges.

The country was facing many many challenges, "housing being the most obvious", he said.

Mr Harris added that rural and regional balance was also important and they had brought university education into the regions Kerry was now a university county.

Moving beyond the idea that all roads must lead to Dublin or the city for people to gain education or a good high-quality job and they had to double down on that.

When asked about the controversy over President Michael D Higgins' comments on neutrality, Mr Harris said he noted the President’s comments but the consultative forum established by the Government was about more than neutrality.

He said it would be regrettable if the discussion got "narrowed" to one about neutrality and that the forum addressed the now very different global environmental, international security and threats to cyber security, as well as cybercrime, and other such issues.