A poll conducted by RTÉ News has found that a large proportion of the Fine Gael parliamentary party has not yet decided or indicated who they will support for the leadership whenever a contest takes place.
There are currently 73 members of the parliamentary party which is made up of 50 TDs, 19 senators and four MEPs.
Under the party rules, the leadership is decided by an electoral college which gives members of the parliamentary party 65% of the votes, ordinary members 25% and councillors 10%.
Of the 73 members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, 71 were contacted by RTÉ Political Correspondent Martina Fitzgerald. The Taoiseach and one senior minister were not contacted.
Of the 71 called, 53 (over 70% response rate) responded on a confidential basis to the question of who they would like to lead the party.
More than a third of the parliamentary party indicated support for a candidate. 17 stated a preference for Leo Varadkar; nine for Simon Coveney.
27 said they have not decided or would not be indicating their intentions at this stage. This also represents more than a third of the parliamentary party.
15 ministers responded to the poll, while it was assumed that the two contenders Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney would vote for themselves.
Regarding the poll, 15 members of the party who are based in Dublin are included in the poll findings. There are 18 parliamentarians based in the capital.
