New Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman is holding his first meeting with Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin at Government Buildings this evening.
The Coalition leaders usually meet every Monday night to clarify the agenda ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday mornings.
It is expected that the three leaders will consider the Summer Economic Statement drafted by new Minister for Finance Jack Chambers and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe.
The statement sets out the parameters of October's budget and how much 'new' money will be spent or used to lower tax rates on budget day.
The document will be considered by Cabinet tomorrow morning and published in the afternoon.
Mr Chambers told RTÉ News this month that he is very clear the coalition's budgetary strategy will involve "a sensible approach" being taken, one which reflects the reduced inflationary environment.
"That is why it will be a much tighter budget in the context of different expenditure demands that might come from ministers," he said.
However the pressure to spend will be high given the Government is on track to have a surplus this year of around €8bn.
That's due to corporation tax outperforming expectations, along with income tax and VAT, as well as some lower yielding tax heads.
Ryan 'passing torch to new leader'
Earlier, the Green Party confirmed Mr O'Gorman's election as a leader at a media event at Bewley's café just after 11am, with outgoing leader Eamon Ryan saying today is about "passing the torch to a new leader".
Out of an available electorate within the party membership of 3,425, a total of 1,896 members voted.
Minister O'Gorman received 984 votes, or 51.8%, compared to 912, or 48.2%, for Minister of State and Senator Pippa Hackett
He rejected suggestions his party is divided after narrowly winning the leadership race, saying the that the party has had a number of "tight" votes in the past.
Asked if he intends to make any ministerial changes or to seek a Cabinet reshuffle, he said: "I won't be proposing a Cabinet reshuffle of ministers or ministers of state".
The new Green Party leader was later asked if - given there will be no Cabinet reshuffle - what changes, if any, will be apparent from Mr Ryan's tenure.
In response, Minister O'Gorman joked "obviously a younger approach", before saying it is "not a change but the next step forward".
Read more: New Green Party leader has some thorny questions to prune
He said he has faced "a lot of challenges" in his ministerial role "and I have met every one of those challenges".
Asked about whether he will support Minister for Media Catherine Martin's proposal for an exchequer-funded RTÉ, he said this, rather than the TV licence fee, is in his view "the best way".
Green Party national co-ordinator, Councillor Cristiona Kiely, told the meeting the vote is "a changing of the guard, a passing of the torch".
To a standing ovation from party members, she thanked Mr Ryan, who she said has brought the Green Party back "from the wilderness".
Minister O'Gorman said he has been "humbled" by the appointment and said he will "work hard with Government and opposition to do what is right", and that he wants to see "the Government go its full term".
He outlined a number of policy priorities, including ensuring this autumn's budget is thought through and "not a giveaway", and that the Green Party cannot "retreat into a comfort zone and hope the votes come to us".
He said the party is "proud of the achievements we've made" while being "aware of the challenges", and that while the party's "core vote" remains "if we depend only on our core vote then we're going to lose Dáil seats".
Mr O'Gorman said he wants to provide people with an "innovative manifesto" at the next general election, which focuses on both climate issues and other issues affecting people's everyday lives.
He said issues like equality, enacting hate speech legislation, and improving childcare services will be key to his leadership.
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Minister O'Gorman also thanked Senator Hackett, who said in her speech that the campaign was "respectful" and told Minister O'Gorman "I will be here for you".
Senator Hackett told the event "politics is tough", but said "I believe in a Green Party that strives to be relevant in people's everyday lives".
The change of leader does raise the possibility of a reshuffle of the Green Party ministers, however this is not inevitable, sources within the party have said.
Minister for Media Catherine Martin has already spoken of her desire to stay in her role in order to complete the process of deciding on a funding model for public service media.
Mr Ryan has also expressed a willingness to stay on as Minister for Environment, Climate and Transport.
Long connection with Green Party
From west Dublin, Mr O'Gorman still lives nearby in the Mulhuddart area with his husband Ray, and has been a high-profile figure in social justice and equality discussions involving the current Government.
Minister O'Gorman, 42, has been a member of the Green Party for more than 25 years, serving as the party's chairperson between 2011 and 2019.
But his connections to the Green Party go back further, with a ten-year-old Roderic O’Gorman helping with canvass drops for future party leader Trevor Sargent in the 1992 general election.
A Trinity College graduate and former lecturer, firstly at Griffith College and then Dublin City University's School of Law and Government, Minister O’Gorman unsuccessfully ran for the Dáil in 2007, 2011 and 2016.
He won a seat on Fingal County Council in the 2014 local elections for the Castleknock area, before he entered the Dáil as a Dublin West TD in February 2020's General Election.
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Minister O'Gorman was heavily involved in social justice and equality campaigns before entering the Dáil, including campaigns in favour of marriage equality and to remove the Eighth Amendment.
This focus has continued while in Government, with his ministerial portfolio meaning he has a key role in a number of high-profile political and social issues, most prominently migration and refugee rights in Ireland.
The minister has also been targeted by a number of recent protests, including those from right-wing anti-immigration groups, who have protested outside his home on a number of occasions.
While some opponents within the party have suggested Minister O'Gorman is focused more on social issues than on core Green Party climate policies, the minister has said in interviews that he believes the Green Party has a responsibility to focus on both points into the future.
Additional reporting: Will Goodbody, Fiachra Ó Cionnaith
