Irish PM calls national election for Feb. 8

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he would ask President Michael D. Higgins to dissolve parliament in order to hold a parliamentary election on February 8.

“I always said that the election should happen at the best time for the country. Now is that time,” Varadkar told a news conference.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin and Graham Fahy; editing by John Stonestreet)