Fine Gael’s Simon Coveney has confirmed he is retiring from politics and will not run in the next general election.
The former Tánaiste and current Enterprise Minister from Cork has been a TD for 26 years.
In a message to Fine Gael members today, Mr Coveney, he said; “Now is the right time for renewal in Fine Gael and for me to change direction.”
“I hope you can respect my decision to seek new horizons in life outside of Dáil Éireann,” Mr Coveney wrote.
“I’ve loved almost every day of public life. I’ve had opportunities in politics that I could never have dreamt possible before 1998; as a councillor, a TD, a Minister and as Tánaiste.
“It’s a career that’s taken me to every corner of the world, from the Oval Office to refugee camps in Gaza, from Belfast to Brussels, from Kiev to the Kremlin, from Turners Cross to Crosshaven and so much more.”
