Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy have announced they are to step down as co-leaders of the Social Democrats saying "now is the time to hand over the leadership reins to the next generation".
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Deputy Shortall told reporters that they have informed the National Executive of the party of their decision and have asked it to make arrangements for a new leader.
They said a successor will be appointed at an "early date".
Both Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall have said they will continue to represent their constituencies and will not be leaving politics.
Ms Shortall said they were confident that the party will be in "safe hands" and that their decision represented a new stage of development for the Social Democrats, adding that "we are really excited about that".
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She said it will be a matter for the Social Democrats parliamentary party to decide whether it would have another pair of co-leaders or just one.
Both she and Ms Murphy told reporters that they found the co-leader format beneficial.
Ms Murphy insisted that they were not forced to step down as leaders and that she and Ms Shortall felt that it was the right time for them.
Ms Shortall said the party was founded at her kitchen table and she was proud of what it had achieved.
"The time is right now to hand over the leadership reins of the party to the next generation of Social Democrats."
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 22, 2023
Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy have announced that they are stepping down as co-leaders of the Social Democrats | https://t.co/uOzHarPHtz pic.twitter.com/4coakMe5f6
Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy said that they had been considering their decision to step down for many months.
In recent weeks they decided to pick a date to announce to their decision.
Deputy Shortall said that with the local and European elections in 15 months' time, they wanted to ensure that the new leadership had time to "bed in and get established, get to travel to country and meet the various branches".
Ms Shortall said the Social Democrats was in a very good place and that she believed she had an important role to play in helping the party to grow and choose future candidates.
Neither Róisín Shortall or Catherine Murphy expect a merger with Labour to be on the cards in the future, although they said they would not pre-empt the decision of a future leader.
Social Democrats TD Cian O'Callaghan said he has not made a decision whether or not he will put himself forward for party leadership.
"I’ll be talking to supporters in my constituency over the next few days and taking soundings on it. So not ruling myself in or out at this stage."
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime programme, he also responded to reports that Deputy Holly Cairns could be the next leader.
"Holly would be a fantastic leader, I think we’re in a lucky situation where we’ve a number of TDs I think that would be able to come forward and be good leaders of the party."
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he wishes both Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall well.
He said they had made a "very significant contribution to public life in their capacity as leaders of the Social Democrats".
Catherine Murphy was first elected to the Dáil in 2005, following a by-election in Kildare North.
She is both co-leader and co-founder of the Social Democrats and is party spokesperson on Justice, Enterprise, Trade and Employment as well as Transport.
Róisín Shortall was first elected to the Dáil in 1992, in the Dublin North West constituency.
She is co-leader and co-founder of the Social Democrats, and is party spokesperson on Health, Finance, and Public Expenditure and Reform.
Ms Shortall is also a former Minister of State.
The Social Democrats party was formed in 2015.
Current Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly was one of the founding members before later joining Fianna Fáil.
Earlier, Social Democrats councillor for Kildare Bill Clear said the announcement "has come as a surprise".
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One he said: "They are both very, very formidable people, they really led us as a team.
"It was very easy to pick up the phone and contact them at any time."
Mr Clear said the new party leader would have the support of members.
Additional reporting by Paul Cunningham
