THE FACT OF THE MATTER
BY PAUL HOPKINS
Meath West TD Damien English will not be standing in the General Election. Last year, he resigned as a junior minister following controversy over property declarations. His announcement brings to 17 Fine Gael TDs who will not be running again. The departures not only raises questions about the party’s ability to contest the election but also why so many politicians, still relatively young, are choosing not to make a lifetime career of the job.
For some it is a lifestyle choice. Donegal’s Joe McHugh was the first Fine Gael TD to announce that he would not be contesting the General Election. “The reason for this is a simple one. I have three children and, as they grow older, I want to be around more and available to them, [whereas] politics is a 24/7 job that demands absolute commitment,” he said.
Family reasons, too, played a part in Kerry TD Brendan Griffin’s decision to step away. Griffin, who was elected in 2011, said: “The reason for my decision is very straightforward, I want to be around my children for the remaining years of their childhood.”
He also said that he had never envisaged having a long career in politics. “I wanted to give it everything I could while I could and the minute I felt that I couldn’t give it 100% commitment, I would step back.”
There can be other reasons for stepping down. Carlow-Kilkenny TD John Paul Phelan (45), first elected in 2011, cited his health as the main reason. He had had a heart attack during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Once I regained consciousness that day, a doctor asked about my work, lifestyle and the need to remove stress from my life and change how I lived. When I told him my job we both laughed. In reality that prognosis has not changed.”
Despite many of those not running again being relatively young, when measured against political lifetimes, age can, obviously, be a factor. Cork North West TD and former Agriculture Minister Michael Creed has put in the years. The 60-year-old was first elected to the Dáil in 1989 and held his seat until 2002, when he lost out to his Fine Gael running mate Gerard Murphy. He was re-elected in 2007.
At the time of his notice to quit, he said: “Politics by its nature requires renewal and it’s time for me to move on.” He hadn’t really thought about his retirement, saying that he was “focused on the job until the curtain drops”.
He “just felt it was the right time for me, but everybody has their own different circumstances that impact on their own decision making”.
Fine Gael TD for Cork East David Stanton, stepping down after more than 25 years in office, said: “You have to be realistic, you can’t keep going this way into your 70s.”
Retiring Dublin Bay North TD Richard Bruton is 70. His career in politics has spanned 41 years, having first been elected in 1982. Announcing his decision, he said: “This is the right time, as new constituencies are forming, to give others the chance to take on the role.”
Minister for Justice and Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan was first elected in 1987. The Laois-Offaly TD said it was the right time to step away. “It is 36 years since I was first elected to Dáil Eireann. Between my father Oliver J and myself that’s 80 years of public service and 23 General Elections. Now it’s time to pass the baton to a younger generation.”
Fergus O’Dowd (75) has served in the Louth and East Meath constituency and been a public representative for 50 years. Talk about a week being a long time in politics.
Others believe politics has changed – and not for the better. Stalking, and growth of the alt-right. Former junior minister and TD for Galway East Ciaran Cannon cited a “coarseness and toxicity” in politics in his decision not to run again. “What we are experiencing right now goes far beyond [public scrutiny] and can be deeply damaging to our wellbeing. At times it feels like it’s open season on you and your family. That’s not acceptable, nor indeed sustainable, if we want to have good people choosing politics as a career.”
In the final analysis, for those stepping down, perhaps many are reaching a point, as all of us can do in our careers, regarding what else they want to do with their personal lives.
While they still have time…
