Simon Harris confirms he will not be the next leader of Fine Gael

Harris made the announcement on RTE this morning.

Minister for Health Simon Harris says that he will not be running for the leadership of Fine Gael, although he was flattered to have been suggested by a number of his colleagues. "At present there is no vacancy and that's a matter for the Taoiseach," Harris told Sean O'Rourke on RTÉ Radio One. The 30-year old admitted that he did not have the necessary experience to run at this time. He added, "I’ve a very busy portfolio which I’m working very hard at and quite frankly I don’t have enough experience at present." Harris declined to say who would be his choice to be Fine Gael leader, saying that it would be "inappropriate" to do so at this time. He made it clear that he was waiting for Enda Kenny to make an announcement before he said anything definite. "My loyalty is to the Taoiseach and when the Taoiseach makes his decision to step aside I’ll make my decision on who to support."