Simon Harris in the context of "Fine Gael"

The Tánaiste (/ˈtɔːnɪʃtə/ TAW-nish-tə, Irish: [ˈt̪ˠaːn̪ˠəʃtʲə] ) is the second-ranking member of the government of Ireland and the holder of its second-most senior office. It is the equivalent of the deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems.

The Tánaiste is appointed by the president of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is Simon Harris, TD, who was appointed on 23 January 2025.

The Minister for Finance (Irish: An tAire Airgeadais) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland. The Minister for Finance leads the Department of Finance and is responsible for all financial and monetary matters of the state; and is considered the second most important member of the Government of Ireland, after the Taoiseach.

The current office holder is Simon Harris, TD; he is assisted by one Minister of State Robert Troy, TD.

The Leader of Fine Gael is the most senior politician within the Fine Gael political party in Ireland. The party leader is Simon Harris, who took up the role on 24 March 2024 after the resignation of Leo Varadkar.

The deputy leader of Fine Gael is Helen McEntee, whom Harris appointed on 19 October 2024 after her predecessor, Heather Humphreys, declared she would not contest the 2024 general election.

The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 is a law of Ireland to revise Dáil constituencies and European Parliament constituencies. The revised Dáil constituencies will come into effect on the dissolution of the 33rd Dáil. The dissolution must take place by 19 February 2025; however, the Taoiseach, Simon Harris has indicated an intention to seek a dissolution of the Dáil on 8 November. The 2024 general election for the 34th Dáil will follow thereafter. The revised European Parliament constituencies were used at the 2024 European Parliament election.

The 2024 Irish general election to elect the 34th Dáil took place on Friday, 29 November 2024, following the dissolution of the 33rd Dáil on 8 November by President Michael D. Higgins at the request of Taoiseach Simon Harris. Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m UTC. It elected 174 Teachtaí Dála (TDs) across 43 constituencies of between 3 and 5 seats to Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's legislature. Under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023, the number of TDs was increased from 160 to 174, making it the largest Dáil in the history of the state, with an increase in the number of constituencies from 39 to 43. The main issues in the campaign were the cost of living, housing affordability and availability, immigration and asylum management, and economic stability amid external trade uncertainties, reflecting voter concerns despite the country's strong overall financial health.

The election resulted in Fianna Fáil remaining as the largest party, increasing its number of seats to 48. Its governing partner Fine Gael won 38 seats, with the two parties combined winning 86 seats, two shy of a majority. The Green Party, the third party of government, lost all but one of its seats, with only leader Roderic O'Gorman returning to the Dáil. Sinn Féin remained as the second largest party, winning 39 seats, while the Social Democrats and Labour each won 11 seats, an increase of five each.