At least three possible replacements for Ryan on general election ticket in Dublin Bay South

Until around 4.30pm on Tuesday afternoon, the prevailing expectation within the Green Party was that the race to succeed Eamon Ryan would be between deputy leader Catherine Martin and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman.

Ms Martin withdrawing her name from the running via a social media post well and truly scuppered that prediction. However, there were still some in the party expecting a contested leadership race with names emerging on Wednesday.

There is a view within the party that Mr Ryan’s successor will have to be a Cabinet Minister.

Should it go ahead it is presumed that Mr O’Gorman, who has the busy children and integration ministerial brief, will be one of the candidates as the most senior Cabinet Minister who has not ruled themselves out.

Groundbreaking legislation to regulate surrogacy and fertility clinics passed almost 20 years after first mooted

---

Gardaí criticise the use of encryption by social media platforms

---

Jack Chambers becomes youngest Minister for Finance since Michael Collins in 1919

---

Donnelly calls for redress scheme if inquiry into use of Epilim finds ‘systemic issues’

---

There were also suggestions that “super-junior” Minister for Agriculture Senator Pippa Hackett – who also sits at Cabinet – may be interested in contesting. She was similarly silent on her intentions on Tuesday.

[ Analysis: Eamon Ryan resignation will make management of the end of this Coalition more fraught ]

In terms of who might run in the general election in a bid to retain Mr Ryan’s seat in Dublin Bay South there are at least three potential candidates – councillors Claire Byrne, Hazel Chu and Carolyn Moore.

All were elected to Dublin City Council earlier this month either topping the poll or being elected, in Ms Chu’s case, on the first count.

Ms Byrne, Mr Ryan’s parliamentary assistant, was the party’s candidate in the 2021 byelection in the constituency in 2021.

Ms Chu, a high-profile lord mayor of Dublin, had contested the Green Party’s selection convention ahead of the byelection but lost out to Ms Byrne.

The result of the byelection saw the future Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik winning the seat.

The Greens will have a battle on their hands to hang on to their seat in the constituency.

• Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
• Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
• Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis