Seán Haughey announces he will not contest next general election

Fianna Fáil Dublin Bay North TD Seán Haughey has announced that he will not contest the next general election.

His decision to comes after almost 40 years as an elected representative.

In a statement, he said: “Having devoted all my adult life to public service, I have come to the view that now is the right time for me to step down from frontline politics.”

Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin paid tribute to his departing colleague saying he is “a man of great integrity, a fine parliamentarian and someone who takes pride in being meticulous in every aspect of his work.”

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He highlighted Mr Haughey’s “deep commitment to the well-being of those he represents” and thanked him on behalf of Fianna Fáil “as he embarks on a new chapter.’’

Mr Haughey, the son of the late taoiseach Charlie Haughey, was first elected to Dublin City Council in 1985 and later served a Lord Mayor.

He was elected as a Senator in 1987 and first won a Dáil seat for the Dublin North Central constituency in 1992. He served as a Minister of State at the Department of Education between 2006 and 2011.

Mr Haughey lost his seat in 2011 when Fianna Fáil had a disastrous result in the wake of the economic crisis. However, he returned to Dublin City Council when he won a seat in the 2014 Local Elections and then regained his Dáil seat in the new Dublin Bay North constituency in 2016.

Mr Haughey told his local party organisation of this decision not to contest the next election on Tuesday evening.

Fianna Fáil councillor Deirdre Heney has been mentioned among possible candidates for the party at the next election, having made previous bids to be elected to the Dáil.

It is also possible that another Haughey could end up on the ticket in Dublin Bay North. Cathal Haughey, a nephew of the departing TD, is a candidate in the area for the upcoming local elections.

On Tuesday, Seán Haughey said serving in various roles during his political career had been “a tremendous honour”.

He thanked constituents for their support and the trust they placed in him,

Mr Haughey said that during his time in politics, he “found it enormously fulfilling to be able to give advice and assistance to hundreds of individuals, groups, and organisations in helping them secure the benefits and services to which they were entitled.”

He added: “I am also proud that I could carry on a family tradition of public service in the constituency dating right back to the 1950s.”

Mr Haughey said he is “deeply grateful” to his wife Orla, four children and his extended family as well as “the many loyal party members and lifelong friends for their unfailing help and encouragement in all my election campaigns.”

He said he remains “fully committed to Fianna Fáil as a democratic party, at the centre of Irish political life, advancing a caring social philosophy, and capable of resolving the many and varied problems that now we now face.”

Mr Haughey is the first Fianna Fáil TD in the current Dáil to announce he will not stand at the next election.

Sligo TD Marc MacSharry, who left Fianna Fáil in 2022, previously announced he will step down from politics at the next general election.

Several Fine Gael politicians, including Dublin Bay North TD Richard Bruton, have announced they will not contest the next election.

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