Tánaiste (Deputy PM) Micheál Martin, leader of Fianna Fáil, defended the record of the three-party coalition.

He said the government, which came to power in June 2020, had been formed “in the middle of the greatest public health crisis in modern times”.

“We are three separate parties that seek to work together, respecting both our differences and an agreed approach to the most urgent issues facing our country,” he said.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said he disagreed with calls for an early general election because there was work to be done.

However, representatives of other opposition parties also said that a change of government was badly needed.

Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik said of Mr Harris that “his elevation today will not deliver the change that we need”.

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said Ireland was “facing serious challenges as a country and in order to address them we need new ideas”.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said the Irish people had been “locked out of the decision-making process”, while People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett accused Fine Gael of being afraid to face the electorate.