Taoiseach (prime minister) Enda Kenny has said he is going to ask the Irish President Michael D Higgins to dissolve the Dáil (parliament).
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Mr Kenny’s Gael party and junior coalition partners Labour will be hoping to return to power, using stability during the economic recovery as their key message.
Enda Kenny will travel to Aras an Uachtaráin and polling is expected to take place on Friday 26.
Ireland exited its global bailout mid-way through Kenny’s five-year term, when a quicker and stronger recovery than elsewhere in Europe took hold.
The Taoiseach has fired the starting gun and called the election.
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Fine Gael’s two main obstacles to retaining a parliamentary majority are the populist Fianna Fail, Ireland’s longtime political heavyweight devastated in the 2011 vote, and the nationalist Sinn Fein party. The bailout gave Ireland time to restructure banks, fix its credit rating and repay International Monetary Fund loans ahead of schedule. Tax collections and deficit reductions once again are consistently beating targets, and unemployment has just hit a 7-year low of 8.6 percent.
