Fine Gael to canvass rugby fans at Ireland v New Zealand clash on first official day of election campaign

The Dáil is expected to be dissolved on Friday when Taoiseach Simon Harris returns from a meeting of European Council leaders in Hungary.

The Taoiseach is then expected to set Friday, November 29, as polling day, meaning candidates are facing into a three-week campaign.

However, Fine Gael will not begin to officially campaign until the following day because of the international rugby clash between Ireland and the All Blacks.

Fine Gael candidates will instead ­canvass fans travelling to the match in Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Friday night.

The Taoiseach's party will host an event on Saturday outlining a key policy area that has yet to be decided.

The Fine Gael campaign events will revolve around a number of topics, including housing, health, childcare and business.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have had more than a decade to solve housing, but you've only made it worse

Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin are both expected to have press events on Friday to coincide with the start of the campaign.

Sinn Féin's campaign launch will be early next week in Dublin and party leader Mary Lou McDonald will tour the country over the coming weeks.

The party is eager to have as many events as possible outside of Dublin.

The Finance Bill was debated in the Dáil yesterday before being guillotined by the Government ahead of a Seanad debate today.

The move clears the way for the ­Taoiseach to dissolve the Dáil now that the legislation underpinning budget measures has been passed and will soon be signed into law.

With the election campaign just about to begin, Mr Harris was forced to defend the Government's housing record as Sinn Féin criticised new housing targets as being too low.

The Cabinet signed off on 303,000 homes to be built by the end of the decade. The figures range from 40,000 up to 60,000 over the course of a number of years.

Sinn Féin wants 300,000 homes to be built by 2030, but at least 125,000 should be social and affordable, delivered by councils and approved housing bodies.

"Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have had more than a decade to solve housing, but you've only made it worse," Ms McDonald told the Dáil during Leader's Questions.

She said the Government has ­"courted and backed" vulture funds and "delivered less homes this year than last".

"They're 20pc lower than what your own Housing Commission states is needed. And I think this demonstrates why people can't afford another government led by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil," she said.

She said the Government "offers" people the option to emigrate and should instead "back a real housing plan from Sinn Féin".

The Taoiseach said 500 people are buying homes each week and said housing commencement figures show construction started on over 49,000 homes this year. He said the "largest housing budget ever" will see more than €6bn put into housing next year.

He said Sinn Féin housing policies would "pull the rug" from first-time buyers by scrapping the Help to Buy and First Home schemes.