Thank you for joining our live coverage as Leo Varadkar stepped down as taoiseach (Irish prime minister) and Fine Gael leader.

Announcing his resignation, Varadkar described leading his country as "the most fulfilling time of my life".

There will be continuing reaction and analysis on the BBC News NI website throughout the evening.

Mary Lou McDonald would not be drawn when asked about her chances of being taoiseach following the next election.

She says Sinn Féin are in a strong position and would be trying to form a government without Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

McDonald adds that no matter the outcome of any election, she would "respect" the voters decision.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who is leader of the opposition, is calling for a general election.

Ms McDonald says she did not expect to hear the news of Varadkar's resignation this morning.

"The taoiseach essentially called time on this government," she says.

"There is a huge appetite for change and frustration...it is time to go to the people and ask them who should make up the government and more importantly lead the government."

Ms McDonald adds that on a personal level she wishes Varadkar well.

Image source, PA Media

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SDLP leader Colum Eastwood says Varadkar "served our country with honour and dignity".

He says he took office at a "fractious moment" in Irish political life and played an "important role".

Eastwood adds: "The taoiseach worked hard to support the restoration of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement.

"Beyond warm words of encouragement, he has committed measurable resource to critical projects in the North that will bring communities closer together."

Eastwood also said that as Ireland's first gay taoiseach Varadkar had “provided visibility and inspiration to many across our island who have not felt represented in the institutions of government before".

"That is undoubtedly a good thing," he added.

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Even in the days before announcing his resignation, Leo Varadkar has remained busy.

Over Friday he was in Washington DC, meeting US President Joe Biden as part of an annual St Patrick's Day tradition.

In the meeting, Varadkar urged Biden to work towards an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza.

He also spoke with the president about power sharing in Northern Ireland during that trip. Earlier he said that any reform of the political institutions in the country should happen before voters go to the polls in the next assembly elections.

Any changes, he added, would need to be agreed on by parties at Stormont.

Leo Varadkar's announcement does not mean he will be making his exit from politics straight away.

As of today, he is, with immediate effect, stepping down as the leader of his party, Fine Gael.

He will remain in post as taoiseach until his successor is selected from within his own party - something which is expected to happen in early April, after the Easter recess.

Varadkar plans to remain on as a constituency TD (member of the Irish parliament), as was the case with many of his predecessors.

Image source, Getty Images

Leo Varadkar was born in Dublin in 1979.

His father Ashok, a Hindu doctor from Mumbai, met his mother, Miriam, an Irish nurse from Waterford, while they were both working in England.

They settled in Ireland in the 1970s and although the young Leo was raised a Catholic, he was sent to a fee-paying private Church of Ireland school. He followed in his father's footsteps and qualified as a doctor.

Varadkar worked as a hospital doctor and as a GP before he was elected to the Dáil (lower house of Irish parliament).

Now aged 45, he was just 38 years old when he began his first term as taoiseach in 2017.

At the time, he was widely seen as embodying the liberalisation of a country once regarded as one of the most socially conservative in Europe.

He served twice as taoiseach in coalition governments - first from June 2017 to June 2020 and then again from December 2022.

Read more about Leo Varadkar.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has thanked outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for his years of service.

He said they had worked together on issues, noting the restoration of power sharing in Northern Ireland.

He wished him well for the future and said he looked forward to working with his successor.

Leo Varadkar only announced his resignation this afternoon, but already the focus is turning to who could succeed him as Fine Gael leader and - almost certainly - the new taoiseach (Irish prime minister).

At the moment four names are being mentioned.

Further and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris is the early favourite with many bookmakers. He gained a high profile as health minister when the Republic of Ireland voted to amend its constitution to legalise abortion in 2018 and subsequently served as justice minister. The 37-year-old represents the Wicklow constituency.

Helen McEntee became a TD (MP) at the age of 26, succeeding her father after he took his own life. In 2017 she took on the high-profile role as minister of state for European affairs and in June 2020 she was promoted to become minister of justice. After widespread disorder in Dublin in November 2023 she faced down calls to resign from opposition parties.

Paschal Donohoe is the public expenditure minister and was previously finance minister from 2017-2022, arguable the second-most important cabinet post. The Dublin Central representative is also president of the Eurogroup - the informal meetings of the finance ministers of the eurozone.

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys represents the Cavan-Monaghan constituency which borders Northern Ireland. As well as her main cabinet post, she covered the justice ministry for two periods while McEntee took maternity leave. If she became taoiseach she would be the first protestant to hold the post.

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Irish President Michael D Higgins was informed of Leo Varadkar's decision to stand down shortly before the press conference announcing his resignation, according to the president's spokesman.

He added that the pair also had a "substantial conversation" shortly after this speech, in which Higgins "thanked the taoiseach for his service".

They meet regularly in order to keep the president informed on government policy, as is mandated by the constitution, the spokesman added. They are due to meet at least once more before Varadkar leaves office.

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Democratic Unionist Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says he and Leo Varadkar differed but did so "respectfully".

“[We] were very often on different ends of the political spectrum," he says.

"We differed on the Republic of Ireland’s approach to legacy, and sharply differed on his approach and attitude on the [NI] Protocol and the constitutional future of Northern Ireland."

However, Sir Jeffrey also says there were areas in which he worked with Varadkar "on matters of mutual benefit for both our countries".

Leo Varadkar's time as Fine Gael leader produced a mixed electoral picture.

After becoming leader in 2017 he faced his first big electoral test two years later in local and European Parliament elections.

In the local elections, Fine Gael emerged as the country’s second-biggest party, taking 255 seats, up 20.

Image source, Reuters

In the European election, his party emerged with almost 30% of the national vote, returned 5 MEPs and saw its vote rise by 7.3 percentage points on the previous European parliament poll.

But in February 2020 it was a trickier picture in the general election.

Varadkar’s Fine Gael suffered an electoral blow, losing 15 seats and suffering a 4.7 percentage point drop in vote share to fall to third place.

Micheál Martin, the tánaiste (Ireland's deputy prime minister), has ruled out bringing forward the next general election.

Rules state that the next election must take place by early 2025, and a stream of opposition leaders have called for an early vote in the wake of Leo Varadkar's resignation.

But while Martin says he was "surprised" by the announcement, he insists the current coalition will serve its full term.

"This is a coalition of three parties, not personalities, and I remain committed to the continuation of government", he says.

"I've been very consistent from the very beginning that my view is the government should go full term, and that remains my position as of today".

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We are hearing from the party leaders in the Dáil (lower house of Irish parliament), with Sinn Féin's leader Mary Lou McDonald, who is leader of the opposition, opening proceedings.

She urges Leo Varadkar to call for an early election, adding it is "unthinkable" the next taoiseach (Irish PM) is chosen by a "conclave" of Fine Gael politicians.

"This is a time for fresh leadership. Not just a change of taoiseach, but a change of government, and a change of direction," she says.

She claims that when Fine Gael took power in 2011 Ireland had one of the highest levels of homeownership in Europe, and this has declined to one of the worst since.

"This government has now run out of steam and run out of road, so rather than limping on in a caretaking capacity," she says.

"Let’s go to the people, they decide who leads."

Responding, Varadkar points out that there are many examples throughout Ireland's history of leadership being transferred without an election taking place.

A new taoiseach could be in place as early as 9 April, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

It reports that the Fine Gael national executive council will be meeting tonight to set the rules for the party's leadership contest.

That contest, it reports, will conclude by 6 April - in time for the Fine Gael ard fheis, the party's annual convention.

The new leader could then be put forward to the Dáil, the lower house of the Irish parliament, for election to the post of taoiseach on 9 April.

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The party led by Leo Varadkar, Fine Gael, is one of the traditional "big two" parties in Irish politics along with Fianna Fáil - although both have been challenged by the rise of left-wing republican party Sinn Féin in recent years.

Fine Gael is considered to be on the centre-right of the political spectrum, although it is a big-tent party with several factions and describes itself as a "party of the progressive centre".

It is generally considered to be to the right on economic issues, socially liberal, pro-business and strongly opposed to violent Irish republicanism.

The party's European affiliation is with the European People's Party, which also includes the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the People's Party of Spain.

It has provided five Irish prime ministers.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly says, that while unionists and Varadkar "did not see eye to eye often, if at all," she wishes him all the best.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician has held the deputy first minister post since the start of February.

"There were many things we disagreed with in terms of unionist and a DUP party political perspective but we also worked in some things together," she adds.

The first and deputy first ministers of Northern Ireland are holding a press conference following Leo Varadkar's resignation.

First Minister Michelle O'Neill, of Sinn Féin, says there should be an election in the Republic of Ireland.

"It's for the people to decide who will be taoiseach," she adds.

She accuses Varadkar's Fine Gael party of presiding over 13 years of "failure".

More now from the speech in which Leo Varadkar announced his resignation as prime minister.

Click the play button above to watch as the taioseach is brought to tears at the end of his announcement.

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Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has described Leo Varadkar as "an energetic and committed leader of the country who was always supportive of his government colleagues".

The Green Party is the smallest party in the three-party coalition in the Republic of Ireland, with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

Ryan says his party is now looking forward to the Fine Gael leadership contest and the election of a new taoiseach by Dáil Éireann, the lower house in the country's parliament.

He says in the interim the government will continue to fulfil its mandate.

"I would like to offer my good wishes to Leo as he prepares to depart the taoiseach’s office," he adds.

"He has served the country well and can be proud of the contribution he has made to Irish political life."