Speculation mounts over Simon Coveney's candidacy in European elections 

Mr Coveney said that while his initial reaction had been to 'steady the ship', he wanted to make it easier for Mr Harris to promote new faces from within Fine Gael

Cork South Central TD Simon Coveney confirmed on Tuesday that he would depart Cabinet when new Fine Gael leader Simon Harris is elected as Taoiseach next week. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Speculation is mounting that Simon Coveney could run in the upcoming European elections following his decision to step down from Cabinet next week.

The Cork South Central TD confirmed on Tuesday that he would depart Cabinet when new Fine Gael leader Simon Harris is elected as Taoiseach next week.

Mr Coveney said that he spoke with Mr Harris about his decision on Monday night, but confirmed he would remain in place as a TD.

Mr Coveney told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne that after 13 years in Cabinet, he believed it was the right time to give Mr Harris “the space” to create a new opportunity for Fine Gael in Government.

He said that it is an opportunity for the incoming Taoiseach to promote new talent within Fine Gael and that Mr Harris had a difficult decision to make when selecting his Cabinet.

“I think he'll want to bring forward new ideas and new energy in the party. And I think he'll want to bring a team with him, to do that," Mr Coveney said.

"I don't know whether he was going to ask me to be in Cabinet as part of that team or not. I know he was weighing that up. We spoke about that both last week and again this week. But I think it makes life easier for him. And I think it's also, you know, a recognition by me, too, that Fine Gael needs renewal.

However, when asked about whether he would be running in the next general election, Mr Coveney declined to answer saying that it was a question for another day.

“I’ll put a bit of thought into that over the next few months, but I’m not going to rush it,” he said.

“It's not a yes or it's not a no. It's me just being honest about it. That's something I'm not going to rush. It's something, to be honest, I hadn't even thought about.”

However, senior sources within Fine Gael have now indicated that Mr Coveney could now seek to run for the party in the upcoming European elections.

Party sources have also noted Mr Coveney mentioned councillors within his constituency of Cork South Central who have the “capacity to be TDs in the future”, citing this could be an indication that he may not run again for the Dáil.

Mr Coveney, who is a former MEP having served in Brussels between 2004 and 2007, was said to have enjoyed his time at the European Parliament and could potentially slot back into the role.

There is a potential issue there, however, with the Fine Gael candidates for Ireland South having already been selected, with John Mullins on the ticket representing Cork.

One Fine Gael source has indicated that Mr Mullins could be dropped from the ticket and instead be selected to run in Cork East at the next general election. This is possible as the sitting TD for the constituency, David Stanton, is due to stand down at the end of this Dáil term.

The Cork South Central TD said hat Fine Gael had gone through a “political earthquake” in recent weeks with the resignation of outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

However, he said that a process of renewal is now ongoing in Fine Gael following Mr Varadkar’s resignation.

He said that while his initial reaction had been to “steady the ship”, he wanted to make it easier for Mr Harris to promote new faces from within Fine Gael.

However, he rejected assertions that after 13 years in Government that Fine Gael was “jaded”, despite the high numbers of TDs retiring from politics at the end of the current Dáil.