Leo Varadkar now has the support of 45 of the 73 members of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party in the race to be the next leader.

Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald along with Junior Ministers Michael Ring and Catherine Byrne, and Senator Joe O'Reilly are among those who declared for him today, as he officially launched his leadership bid.

Varadkar arrives to sustained applause. pic.twitter.com/ebfAYDru7W

— Niamh Lyons (@niamh_lyons) May 20, 2017

Mr Varadkar says if he wins, he would like Simon Coveney to serve in his Cabinet but would not offer the same assurance about health minister Simon Harris.

And after the Coveney campaign last night launched a vicious attack, calling some Varadkar's supporters 'choir boys', the social protection minister had this to say:

He now has a virtually unassailable lead as Simon Coveney would require around three quarters of councillors and the wider membership.

At Mr Varadkar's campaign launch in Dublin, the Tánaiste explained why she's backing him:

Our Political Correspondent Gavan Reilly has been crunching the numbers following the latest developments.

It confirms Simon Coveney has a mountain to climb if he's to clinch the top job in Fine Gael.