Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has lost a key Fine Gael ally as Brendan Griffin confirmed that he will not contest the next general election.
There have been suggestions for a number of weeks that the Kerry man would not seek re-election.
There was anger in the party last month when Mr Griffin was “overlooked” for the Chief Whip position during the Cabinet reshuffle.
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While he was offered a different junior ministry, he turned it down citing “family reasons”.
Mr Griffin, 40, confirmed to Radio Kerry on Tuesday that we would not run in the next election, which is due to take place in the next two years.
He said: “The reason why I won’t be seeking a nomination for the next general election is that I have two young sons at home. I have missed an awful lot of their childhood already and I want to be around for the remainder of their childhood.
“Those years are fairly short. If the current Dáil runs to the Autumn of next year as is expected and if I were to stand again and the people of Kerry were to elect me again [...] I’d be looking at seven years.
“I’d be looking at my lads being almost 17 and 15. I feel I would have missed it all because politics is so all-consuming.
“There is so much time away from home. Even when you are at home, your mind is very often elsewhere.”
Mr Griffin is one of the final members of the “five-a-side group” to leave politics.
The group regularly met to discuss “policy”. Its ringleader was former Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, who retired from politics in April 2021.
The backbenchers were also seen to be instrumental in Varadkar becoming Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach.
Mr Varadkar paid tribute to Deputy Griffin, saying that he had been a “brilliant representative for Kerry”.
“I understand entirely that he wants to spend more time with his family in the future. He was an excellent Minister for Tourism & Sport and throughout his career has been a very effective advocate for rural Ireland,” he said.
Several Fine Gael politicians suggested to the Irish Mirror that Mr Griffin would bow out of politics ahead of the general election. Sources close to the TD said that he was “very disappointed” when he did not get the Chief Whip position.
One Fine Gael source said that they believed it would be “curtains” for Mr Griffin following the snub.
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