Fianna Fáil leader Mícheál Martin has been nominated as Taoiseach by Dáil Éireann and looks set to be voted into office shortly.
The Dáil has been meeting for the first time in months at the Convention Centre in Dublin's north Docklands -- the venue chosen to allow all 160 TDs meet, while maintaining social distancing.
Opening the session, Ceann Comhairle "It has taken us a long time to get here. But we have crossed the river. And in this superb venue, we must fulfill our constitutional duty,"
"We must act to effect the change the country needs, and to preserve that which deserves to be preserved."
Kerry TD Norma Foley nominated Deputy Martin as Taoiseach, pointing to successes in his time in office holding the education and business briefs -- and adding that as Minister for Health, his policies had "saved tens of thousands of lives".
"Mícheál Martin has a proud record of delivering for this proud and free Republic," she said.
His nomination was seconded by James O'Connor of Cork East.
The rival
Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald was proposed as a rival candidate by Donegal TD Pearse Doherty.
"Teachta here deserve a choice -- the choice that people had in February';s election -- between change, and more of the same. We can do things differently, provided the right choices are made," he said.
"Change cannot be stopped by FF or FG, because the people will not allow that."
Galway West's Mairead Farrell seconded Deputy McDonald, warning: "The Greens are repeating the same mistake they made 13 years ago.
"For the political establishment it is their way or no way. The price of having Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael together in Government is too high."
"This wasn't a protest vote. This was a vote driven by kindness, by good will, by compassion, and rooted in common sense."
"No longer is a better, fairer, united Ireland the dream of a few -- it is now more possible than ever," she said.
'A second chance'
Leo Varadkar said Fine Gael was declining to make a nomination in order to support Mícheál Martin.
"Today Civil War politics ends in our parliament -- two great parties coming together with another great party, the Green Party, to offer what this country needs -- a stable government for the betterment of our country, and the betterment of our world," he said.
"For my own party, Fine Gael, it's an opportunity. A third term in government, something we've never been able to do before, three consecutive terms, and a chance to protect what has been achieved and secured over the past nine years -- and also a second chance, an opportunity to get right some of the things we didn't get right in the years gone by."
Labour leader Alan Kelly said his party would be opposing both nominations for Taoiseach, saying Sinn Féin had a "Late Late Toy Show giveaway" approach to its programme for government.
He said the Programme for Government is a "lost opportunity to transform our country".
"The financials behind this programme are comical. In fact they're so comical they weren't even put down on paper."
