Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan has ruled out running for the leadership of Fianna Fáil and the position of Taoiseach and said his role now is to secure agreement within the party on a successor to Bertie Ahern.
Mr Lenihan refused to comment on who the new leader might be, despite widespread expectation that Tánaiste Brian Cowen will secure the leadership and become Taoiseach.
"I’ve made it very clear...on this day of days, I’m not going there. I see my role as assisting in ensuring that we have unity and agreement within Fianna Fáil," he said.
Mr Lenihan said the Taoiseach had today made a decision "which he believes to be in the best interests of the Irish people and of the effective government of the Irish people".
"I think we have to respect him for that."
"The arrangements for designating a successor will be put in place next week and a successor will be designated to lead the party and to lead the Government," Mr Lenihan told RTÉ.
"I have always made it clear that I am not running for the leadership."
Mr Lenihan said the important issue now was that the Fianna Fáil party works together.
"I certainly see my role as a minister in the party to see if we can have agreement within the party on this issue,
whether we can in fact have a unanimous choice for our next leader, because Bertie Ahern has left a very united party behind him and I think that's another great achievement of his."
"I’m not going to get into personalities today. And of course, any person is free to contest the leadership. But my own political perspective and what I would like to work for is to secure an agreement about who that leader will be and I don’t want to go beyond that," Mr Lenihan said.
Mr Lenihan also refused to comment on whether he might become the next Tánaiste under a new Fianna Fáil Taoiseach.
"That really doesn’t arise. I enjoy the position I’m in in the Department of Justice very much. But again, we are going to have a new Taoiseach, and that Taoiseach will have to make his or her own [decisions] in relation to matters," he said.
"The important thing to reflect on now in the Fianna Fáil party is who can unite us and go forward and secure the progress that people want to see us make in the wider European family."
Mr Lenihan said the forthcoming referendum on the EU Reform Treaty, due to take place in early June, was of "crucial importance".
"Great damage will be done to Ireland if that referendum doesn’t have a resounding Yes vote. We have to get on with that work and we have to see in the next week how the best way forward on that."
Bookmakers have already set odds of 1-5 on current Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen as favourite to become the next Taoiseach. One firm also quotes odds of 6/4 on Micheal Martin, Dermot Ahern and Brian Lenihan as joint favourites to be next Tánaiste.