GAVE IT THEIR DAIL
Full list of political heavyweights who WON’T run in next Irish General Election amid mass Dail exodus
Are they running scared or have they simply decided not to run again?
MORE than 25 of our current crop of 160 TDs won’t be running in the next General Election as the Dail mass exodus continues.
Coalition leaders claim the Government will run their full term up to next March but the dogs in the street say we will go to polls before the end of the year.
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We know former Finance Minister Michael McGrath is off to Brussels to be Ireland’s next EU Commissioner, and four other TDs have swapped the Dail for the EU after they were elected MEPs.
They are Labour’s Aodhan O’Riordain, Fianna Fail’s Barry Cowen, Sinn Fein’s Kathleen Funchion and Independent Michael McNamara.
But more than 20 other TDs have announced they will not be trying to keep their seat in the next election.
Are they running scared or have they simply decided not to run again?
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Here, our Political Correspondent ADAM HIGGINS takes a look at some of the political heavyweights who won’t be stepping back into the ring for the next election.
CATHERINE MURPHY & ROISIN SHORTALL
THE Dail stalwarts were showered in glowing tributes from across the House earlier this week when they announced they would not be running again.
The dynamic duo founded the Social Democrats in 2015 and have grown the party to six TDs and 35 local councillors.
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Dublin North West’s Roisin Shortall is the longest-serving female TD in history after getting elected in 1992.
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She served as a Junior Minister while in government with Labour and was the driving force behind the cross-party Slaintecare effort to fix our healthcare.
Kildare’s Catherine Murphy will be remembered as one of the most effective members of the Public Accounts Committee and will be remembered for taking on Denis O’Brien and the FAI.
Co-leaders of the Social Democrats Catherine Murphy and Roisin Shortall outline their reasoning for suddenly stepping down at Buswells hotel in Dublin
The two TDs, both 70, leave big boots to fill.
EAMON RYAN
WAS the voice and face of climate action in Ireland as leader of the Green Party.
The Dublin TD’s passion for green policies led him down some bizarre pathways including calling for wolves to be brought back to our countryside and for people to grow salads on their window sills during the pandemic.
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He’s also gone viral for falling asleep during a Dail session and saying the N-word in a debate on racism.
However, Ryan brought the wilting Greens back to life when they had no TDs in 2011.
The party now have 12 TDs, five senators and have forced many Green measures into the Coalition’s policies and budgets over the past four years.
He told key members of the party his plan to step down months ago, to spend more time with his family – including caring for his son who has special needs
BRENDAN HOWLIN
ANOTHER former party leader who won’t be returning is Wexford TD Brendan Howlin.
The Labour Party man has served as Health Minister and Environment Minister but will be best remembered for his time as Public Expenditure Minister from 2011 to 2016 when he introduced a series of austerity budgets after the financial crash.
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He had to make hard decisions to bring the country back to economic prosperity.
When Labour were crushed in the 2016 election, Howlin, stepped up to lead the party and has made important contributions from the opposition benches — including the introduction of Coco’s Law which criminalised the sharing of intimate images without consent.
Brendan is joined by Labour’s Sean Sherlock in not running in the next election.
With Aodhan O’Riordain off to Brussels, will Alan Kelly follow them through the exit door?
LEO VARADKAR
FORMER Taoiseach Leo dramatically stepped down to make way for Simon Harris to become leader but has not made it clear whether he plans to run in the next election.
However, our little spies have seen the ex-Fine Gael leader out canvassing with Senator Emer Currie in his Dublin West constituency so he seems to be paving the way for his exit.
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The Dubliner will be remembered for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, his successful (and unsuccessful) referenda and his Brexit negotiations.
Before the former Taoiseach’s shock exit, Fine Gael were facing an exodus of TDs with 11 senior members confirming they won’t be running again – a third of the party.
These include Charlie Flanagan, Joe McHugh, Brendan Griffin, John Paul Phelan, Michael Creed, David Stanton, Richard Bruton, Fergus O’Dowd, Josepha Madigan, Paul Kehoe and Ciaran Cannon.
SEAN HAUGHEY & MARC MACSHARRY
OUTSPOKEN Fianna Fail TD Marc MacSharry repeatedly tried to take down Micheal Martin to no avail.
His rebelling within the party came to a head last year when MacSharry announced he was leaving Fianna Fail and would act as an Independent.
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However, the Sligo Leitrim TD has also decided to step away from electoral politics and won’t be running again.
He’s not the only Fianna Fail-er throwing in the towel with Dublin’s Sean Haughey also not putting his name forward again.
The son of former Taoiseach and party leader Charlie Haughey announced earlier this year that he is retiring from politics.
However, it is not the end of the Haughey dynasty with Sean’s nephew Cathal Haughey getting elected in the local elections.
AND THE REST
AFTER decades in politics, Roscommon TD Denis Naughten will not stand in the next general election.
He followed in his father Liam’s footsteps as a Fine Gael TD, joining Enda Kenny’s Cabinet in a coalition where he was appointed Minister for Environment.
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He resigned following a controversy over meetings he held with the lead bidder for the National Broadcasting Plan.
Sinn Fein’s Imelda Munster has also announced this is her last term. The Louth TD was the first woman to ever be elected in the constituency in 2016 and will be remembered for her no-nonsense questioning of RTE and FAI execs in the Public Accounts Committee.
Another strong female voice that won’t be heard in the Dail next year is People Before Profit’s Brid Smith.
The Dubliner made a failed bid in the European elections.