SIMON COVENEY WILL  not make a bid for the leadership of Fine Gael and the role of Taoiseach, as he said today “I had my chance”. 

Coveney lost out to Varadkar in a leadership contest in 2017. 

The Enterprise and Trade Minister, speaking on the RTÉ Six One News, today said that Fine Gael will hold an “emergency meeting” tonight with the intention of beginning the process of electing a new leader.

Coveney said that he does not have a preferred candidate at this stage, “we don’t even know who the candidates are,” he added. 

“This is the start of a transition process that is going to take a few weeks, we need to go through that process calmly and professionally, but today is about Leo Varadkar and giving him the space to outline the reasons he is stepping down, and I hope to reflect on some extraordinary achievements he has had in his time as leader of Fine Gael,” Coveney said. 

The Minister said that the Taoiseach “has given his all, and feels that he has very little left to give”. 

“He’s worked incredibly hard for seven years, and he’s felt the need to kind of call it quits, because he felt he couldn’t give it the energy needed. 

“There was no pressure on him from within the party by the way,” Coveney said. 

He added that he had a “long conversation” with Leo Varadkar last night and again this morning, and that the Taoiseach “genuinely feels he is doing what is best for the country”. 

“I made a decision quite some time ago that I wouldn’t stand in another leadership contest, I had my chance, I wasn’t successful the last time, I think there’s a lot of talent in the party,” Coveney said of his own decision not to bid for the leadership.