Opposition parties have welcomed the setting of a date for the general election, saying it is time to move the country forward.
Speaking after the Taoiseach named Friday, March 11th as the date for the election in the Dáil this afternoon, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said Ireland must now “concentrate on the future”.
“This country and its people have gone through hell and fire over the last number of years…We need to restore hope and confidence in this country and fix a system that has been manifestly broken,” he said.
Mr Gilmore said it is time to take the country back and there are 50 days left to "unleash" again the "energy, commitment, patriotism and sheer gut decency of the Irish people.”
And he called on the public to elect a Labour-led Government “driven by the concerns of the many, not the insider-few.”
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who had earlier called on the Taoiseach to resign, said he is looking forward to the forthcoming campaign now that Mr Cowen had given “finality and conclusion and clarity” to the issue.
He said he recognised the importance of passing the Finance Bill ahead of the election but warned that his party, if elected, would unpick some of the measures proposed by the current Government.
Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caolain said at least a lot of young people will be given the opportunity to vote by holding the election on a Friday.
He said that while the election could and should still be held earlier than March 11th, there will be "widespread relief and satisfaction" that the end of the Government is in sight.
Mr Ó Caolain said both parties deserve to be “devastated” in the polls and that the election must mark a “sea-change in the Irish politics”.