Kenny being urged to step down by own party members or risk internal turmoil

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny is being urged to step down as the leader of the party and the country amid reports that there could be internal turmoil in Fine Gael if he doesn't vacate his post by the second week of June.

That would leave Kenny with just over a month left in the job after being the longest serving Fine Gael Taoiseach of all time, but Fine Gael officials are keen to see him out the door as they plan on holding a leadership election during the Dáil's summer recess from June 10 onwards, according to the Sunday Independent.

The party are supposedly fearing that Kenny may stay beyond July 1, the deadline for when Fine Gael supporters are allowed to register as members, and they fear it could be an administration nightmare if he digs his heels in further.

"If he doesn't go by June, and he has been advised of this, he runs the risk of causing a chaotic situation because numerous branches will inevitably not be registered and the voter register will be open to multiple challenges," a senior Fine Gael source is quoted in the Sunday Independent.

Mr Kenny has been made aware of the problems that remaining in his job may cause, but nobody in the party has told him to go as of yet.

The Sunday Independent also report that Fine Gael may hold Hustings style debates beating candidates for the leadership of the party when Mr Kenny eventually vacates his job. Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney are the two frontrunners to succeed the Mayo man as the leader of the government party.