General Election confirmed for Saturday, February 8

Leo Varadkar has confirmed that the General Election will be held on Saturday, February 8.

The choice of Saturday, rather than a Friday, has come as a surprise. 

An Taoiseach said it has been a privilege to serve the country and as a nation we have every reason to be positive about the future.

He said the progress that has been made is not enough.

He said many people don't feel the strength of the economy in their pockets or in their town and many are frustrated on the pace of progress on housing and health and Fine Gael has plans to tackle these issues.