Leo Varadkar has again insisted that is resignation is not linked to “any scandal that is about to break”.

Speaking at the EU Leaders’ Summit in Brussels this morning, the outgoing Taoiseach said he is not aware of any scandal or allegation coming down the line.

He made the comments after he was asked for guarantee he was not making a “Nicola Sturgeon style exit” from politics.

“I'm not and you know, I think the question you're asking me is, is there some sort of scandal that's about to break that I'm aware of and there isn't is the straight answer to that,” he said.

“I understand the need for conspiracy theories and for speculation, but that's simply not the case.

“That's not to say that somebody isn’t going to throw some allegation at me tomorrow or next week or in a few months’ time that I'm not aware of now, that will probably be a load of rubbish, like most of them are, that people will then turn around and say, ‘Aha, that was the real reason’  but like, if you want to do that, fine, but that's not the case.”

Leadership

Mr Varadkar refused to comment on the expected confirmation of Simon Harris as his successor in the coming days – insisting that whoever is the new Fine Gael leader will have his “absolute, unequivocal” support.

He said he would be happy to recall the Dáil from the Easter break early to vote in the new Taoiseach - but there are currently no plans for an early return.

”If they ask me to, I am happy to do so but there are no plans to do that and I am conscious that it is  the Easter Break and Dáil staff will have made arrangements," he said.

"So if the three leaders ask me to, I have no difficulty doing so personally but nobody has suggested that.”

Mr Varadkar announced his shock resignation in an emotional speech outside Leinster House on Wednesday morning.

Simon Harris is now all but confirmed as his replacement after confirming that he was putting himself forward for the role yesterday evening.