Updated: 1.50pm. Additional reporting by Press Association.
Simon Harris has been elected as the country's new Taoiseach, making him the youngest leader of the Government in the history of the State.
TDs voted 88 to 69 in support of Mr Harris, who will now travel to Áras an Uachtaráin to meet President Michael D Higgins, where his appointment will be confirmed.
The Wicklow TD’s wife Caoimhe and young children Saoirse and Cillian were in the public gallery of the Dáil for the start of Tuesday’s proceedings, as were his parents and brother and sister.
During the nomination proceedings, Opposition TDs repeatedly called for an immediate general election, as they criticised the nomination of a new taoiseach without first going to the electorate.
However, Government TDs rose to applaud as the outcome of the vote was announced.
Accepting the nomination, Mr Harris committed to doing "everything I can to honour the trust so many have shown in me".
Mr Harris paid tribute to his predecessor, saying "the history books will record the incredible service he did for our country".
"History will also record that he was a trailblazer as we broke free from some of the worst prejudices of the past, showing Ireland at its best to the world," he added.
He also acknowledged Simon Coveney, who resigned from his Cabinet position, "after serving our country with distinction in so many different roles over so many years".
"It is 13 years since I made my maiden speech in this chamber to nominate Enda Kenny as taoiseach, someone who went on to fulfil the considerable faith that so many of us had in him, as he led a government that rescued our economy, and restored our sovereignty," Mr Harris said.
"Back then, I reflected on what values I thought were needed for the job in hand: integrity, honesty and a work rate which cannot be surpassed."
"As Taoiseach, I will demand of myself what I saw as so important then and – to return to the words I spoke that day – I promise ‘to preside over a government committed to public service, at a time when such commitment is so urgently required’.
"I believed then that a Taoiseach should work every day to realise ‘the hopes, dreams and aspirations of our people’. I still do.
"Today, I accept this new role in a spirit of humility, ready for the challenge, and full of energy and determination about what can be achieved," he added.
Prior to the vote, Leo Varadkar delivered his final speech, stressing politicians have a responsibility not to encourage toxicity in public debate.
Mr Varadkar said it had been a “privilege” to serve as a public representative for 20 years.
He was taoiseach between 2017 and 2020, as well as from 2022 to Monday, and tánaiste during Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin's spell as taoiseach.
Mr Varadkar spent 13 years in Cabinet and seven years as leader of Fine Gael.
“It has been the most fulfilling and rewarding time of my life,” he said.
“But today is the beginning of a new era for my party, a new chapter in my life, and a new phase for this coalition Government.”
Thanking his constituents, staff and party colleagues, Mr Varadkar reiterated he will continue as a TD.
Mr Varadkar also paid tribute to the other leaders of the coalition parties, Mr Martin and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan.
“This historic government ended civil war politics in our parliament and was the first to include Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party,” he said.
“The trust and respect that we’ve built up together ensure that this Government remains solid and stayed the course, and I think will be a model for future coalitions of equals, in this State and elsewhere.”
In his speech, Mr Varadkar said politicians need to “respect each other a little bit better”.
He said there has been a change in tone in political debate, including a growth and encouragement of anger, as well as “coarseness and even toxicity”.
“We should not twist each other’s words, misquote each other, misrepresent each other or demonise each other.
“And we should be much slower to question each other’s motives. Above all, we need to learn to disagree better.
“In my constituency, and on many campaigns, I’ve worked with people from political tradition that has perspectives that are opposite of mine.
“With very few exceptions, they are all people who are motivated by a desire to improve their country and communities, which they care about deeply.
“If we want politicians to be more respected, we have to respect each other a little bit better.”
Mr Varadkar said he also wanted to offer some reflections before he left his seat.
“The first is that Ireland is a great country. We’ve been a stable and continuous democracy for over 100 years.
“We have our problems, but we are free and prosperous and safe, with huge opportunities for our citizens.”
He added that “most if not all” of the problems Ireland has faced in the last 15 years – including health and housing – have been international or external in origin.
“We’re a small ship on a big and restless ocean, and that ship needs to be crewed by good people.”
Mr Varadkar said he is “proud” of his record in office, including welcoming more than 100,000 refugees from Ukraine since the war began.
“I’ve had the honour of helping to lead Ireland from unemployment to full employment; from budget deficits to budget surplus, to a point where we have the resources to invest in public services and public goods in a way we could not in the past; through a pandemic in which we saved lives and livelihoods; through Brexit, where we prevented a hard border between North and South to protect our place in Europe,” he said.
“We’ve made the country more equal and more modern when it comes to the rights of children, the LGBT community and women, and more recently, inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, the worst of which is now thankfully behind us.”
Mr Varadkar also said the Government has reduced poverty and doubled housing construction.
“Ireland is no longer a laggard on climate change. We are turning the tide on climate and biodiversity loss.”
However, he accepted there are areas where the Government has gone “backwards”, adding: “These are problems still to be solved. There will always be problems to be solved and always more work to be done.”
In conclusion, Mr Varadkar wished Mr Harris well as his successor: “I always knew he would be Taoiseach one day. This has perhaps come a little bit sooner than he might have planned or expected, but I know he will rise to the occasion.
“He has empathy, energy, experience, campaigning skills and political antenna to take us forward, and I look forward to voting for him and the new Cabinet in the house later today.”
Another Fine Gael taoiseach is the last thing the people need.
While Mr Varadkar used the opportunity to reflect on his time in government, Sinn Féin did not partake in the day's reminisce, instead repeating calls for a general election.
“Another Fine Gael taoiseach is the last thing the people need,” Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald told the Dáil.
“We need a change of leadership, we need a change of government.”
Discussing Mr Harris’s record in office before the vote to nominate him as the next taoiseach, Ms McDonald add: “Not so long ago, Simon Harris was the minister for health, and on his watch hospital overcrowding spun out of control, the trolley crisis escalated, and the treatment waiting list hit one million patients for the very first time.”
he said that the “scandalous cost” of the National Children’s Hospital also grew, and that a promise Mr Harris made on child scoliosis waiting lists had been “disgracefully broken again and again”.
Ms McDonald said Mr Harris’s appointment was part of the Irish Government’s narrative that “dresses up failure as progress”.
“For the third time you rearrange the Cabinet deck chairs. For the third time in four years, you pat each other on the back and tell the people what a great job you’re doing,” she said.
“The narrative we hear today from Government is a fairy tale so egregious that Hans Christian Andersen himself would be proud of it.”
She added: “It’s your century-old cosy club, circling the wagons once again to cling to power at all costs.
Insisting on a general election, she said: “I believe that the people of Ireland deserve so much better.”
She added: “If you really believe that your Government has the support of the people, then you should go before the people and get that mandate.”
Ms McDonald also levelled criticism at Fine Gael's coalition partners.
“Fianna Fáil refused to vote confidence in Simon Harris as minister for health in 2020 – it caused an election, if you all recall. Today, they dutifully line up to vote him in as taoiseach, joined at the hip by a group of independent TDs.
“Now out there in the real world, the experience is that if you fail and fail again, you get your P45.
“However, in the world of this Government – Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens – it seems you can fail your way right to the very, very top.”
