Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is coming under major pressure from his own ministers to call a general election before Christmas.

The Irish Independent understands many Fine Gael Cabinet ministers now privately favour a snap election in November and this is a "live possibility" provided the uncertainty over Brexit is resolved in the coming days.

Despite Mr Varadkar's publicly stated belief that May 2020 would be the best time to hold a general election, one Fine Gael minister said: "It's not about the 'best' time, that doesn't exist - will there ever be a better time?"

Fine Gael has been buoyed by the fallout from the Votegate controversy and a weekend opinion poll which put it eight points ahead of Fianna Fáil.

Mr Varadkar is now being told he faces a "huge call" if a Brexit extension is secured and the cliff-edge of a no-deal scenario is taken off the table in the coming days.

The same minister added: "Let's be honest, this Dáil is over. It's just a matter of when an election is formally called."

Fine Gael ministers are also increasingly uneasy about the prospect of holding an unprecedented four Dáil by-elections on Friday, November 29 - which the Taoiseach announced last week - with the possibility the Government party could lose all four contests and Fianna Fáil make significant gains.

A second Fine Gael minister said: "From a Fine Gael perspective, of course we want it [a general election]. I mean the by-elections are the fly in the ointment. None of them are ideal.

"There are plenty of people in Fine Gael who are bursting [for a general election]."

A third Fine Gael minister said they hoped there would be a general election. A fourth said that without Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin agreeing to the May 2020 date proposed by the Taoiseach, there could be an election before Christmas.

Two senior Government sources confirmed many Fine Gael members of Cabinet privately favour a general election next month.

One said almost all of them do and that a pre-Christmas poll is a "live possibility" and a "huge call" for Mr Varadkar.

However, a fifth Fine Gael minister privately spoke against an election at the end of next month, citing Brexit and the need to pass legislation underpinning the Budget including the Finance and the Social Welfare bills.

"We've been highlighting our own stability and 'responsibility'. We shouldn't blindly follow the UK," the minister said.

They also hit out at those calling for a pre-Christmas election, saying they were "not the ones with busy work progress and clear targets".

While Fine Gael ministers cited the difficulties caused by the ongoing Brexit uncertainty, there is now a belief that if Prime Minister Boris Johnson secures a Brexit extension from the EU - as seems almost certain - and a general election is called in the UK in the coming days, then the window opens for a snap poll to be held in Ireland.

The Taoiseach's spokesman said last night it "remains the intention" to hold a general election in May 2020, but said it is "not necessarily the Taoiseach's call to make".

A Red C opinion poll for the 'Sunday Business Post' showed Fine Gael up three points to 32pc and Fianna Fáil dropping four points to 24pc.

Fianna Fáil's drop has been attributed to the Votegate controversy after the Irish Independent revealed Niall Collins voted six times for Timmy Dooley when he was absent from the Dáil chamber during a voting session earlier this month. Mr Collins claimed he believed Mr Dooley was in the chamber when he cast the votes.

Both TDs were removed from the Fianna Fáil frontbench last week and the matter is to be considered by the Dáil's Members' Interests Committee on Wednesday.

Irish Independent