Leo Varadkar urges Simon Harris to be ‘authentic’ as taoiseach-in-waiting vows to ‘renew, reset and reconnect’ party

Mr Harris has been selected as the uncontested leader of the party following Mr Varadkar’s shock resignation last Wednesday.

He met with Mr Varadkar for almost two hours at Government Buildings today, with the outgoing Taoiseach offering advice and updating Mr Harris – who is expected to be appointed to the office in April – on key issues.

"It was an opportunity to be updated on national and international issues and also to talk to a man who has been Taoiseach for a significant period of time,” said Harris.

Asked what advice he was given by Mr Varadkar, he added: “I don’t think he’d mind me saying ‘it is important to be yourself’.

“That every holder of office has to bring themselves and their own authenticity to the the role and that’s good advice for which I was very grateful.”

Mr Harris said he is yet to sit down with the other coalition leaders Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan and that “issues relating to cabinet positions are truthfully a matter for another day”.

Asked if the coalition parties could expect fundamental changes under his leadership of Fine Gael, Mr Harris said: “I’m very clear on this. There’s a new leader of Fine Gael and Fine Gael has a right to have a new leader and Fine Gael has a right to set out its positions as a political party.

“When you go into coalition, you don’t give up your rights to be a political party – let’s be very clear on that. And my party wants to renew, it wants to reset, it wants to reconnect.

“But I’m really clear as a party leader in the Government, that we will stay true to the programme for government.”

Mr Harris also said he believes the current Government “should endeavour to go the full term” into early next year.

He accepted that his appointment as leader of the party came “very fast” but said he is “ready to serve”.

"I can’t deny that the past few days have been somewhat overwhelming. It’s been an extraordinarily intense period of time and I’ve taken all of that in”.

Mr Harris said he wants to “get on with the job” and is using this week to “engage with key people”.

Mr Harris will attend the Fine Gael Ard Fhéis as party leader in the coming weeks and will meet individually with members of the parliamentary party to “take stock of where they are at”.

Eleven TDs from Fine Gael have said they will not contest the next general election.

“People in any walk of life can decide to step back for a whole variety of reasons and I just want to talk those through with everybody and get a sense that everyone is happy with their decision – and also to take their counsel and to take their advice,” Mr Harris said.

Speaking in Kilkenny earlier today, Fianna Fáil representative and finance minister Michael McGrath said the country needs “certainty and stability” welcoming Mr Harris’s commitment for the Government to run into next year.

Asked about those comments, Mr Harris said that the relationship between the three coalition leaders is the “key to the success and stability of the Government”.

He added: “That’s where I want to put my real focus and energy into.”

Separately, Mr Harris said “legitimate questions” had been raised about the contents of the Government’s hate crime bill, adding that he expects clarifying revisions and amendments to the legislation.

“I think if we’ve learned anything from the referendum, I think politicians should approach all of these issues with humility and listen to people and the concerns that they’re raising.”

He said he knows his “colleague and friend” Justice Minister Helen McEntee is doing that.

Mr Harris said he wants to support housing minister and Fianna Fáil TD Darragh O’Brien in making “more progress”.

He said: “Government must have and Fine Gael must have the moral courage to admit and acknowledge areas that we want to do better and we want to do more.

“We have an excellent housing minister working extremely hard, he has my full support. Add I want to support him in my new role in making sure we can make even more progress.”

He said there were conversations ongoing in Government in ensuring the Department of Housing had enough capital funding.

He was speaking tonight ahead of an event at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin hosted by MEP Frances Fitzgerald, with Mr Harris acknowledging that there are “a number of pressing issues facing Ireland, facing Europe”.