TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen will inform the Dáil this afternoon of his intention to seek a dissolution from President Mary McAleese, with the election date expected to be Friday, February 25th.
If he follows precedent, Mr Cowen will not inform the Dáil of the date of the election but will announce the date on which the next Dáil will meet for the first time.
The formal announcement of the election date will be made later today by Minister for Local Government Éamon Ó Cuív but it will become widely known immediately after the Taoiseach has dissolved the Dáil.
Immediately after telling the Dáil of his intention to seek a dissolution the Taoiseach will travel to Áras an Uachtaráin to ask the President to make the formal announcement.
The clerk of the Dáil will then issue a writ to the returning officer in each of the 43 Dáil constituencies instructing him or her to hold an election.
Mr Ó Cuív will set the polling day, which must be between 18 and 25 days, excluding Sundays and public holidays, after the date of the dissolution.
The Minister will also appoint the polling period which must be at least 12 hours between 7am and 10.30pm on the date of the election.
It is expected the election day will be February 25th, although there has been speculation that it might not take place until the last possible date, Tuesday, March 1st, to give new Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin time to prepare for the campaign.
When he dissolves the Dáil today, Mr Cowen is legally entitled to call the election on any date between Monday, February 21st, and Tuesday, March 1st.
One reason for having the election on February 25th is that schools, which are used as polling stations, will be on a mid-term break, and pupils would not lose another day on top of those lost because of the snow.
