TD Simon Coveney announced today, July 10, that he will be stepping out of politics at Ireland's next general election, which is set to happen no later than next March.
Coveney, 52, has been a TD for Cork South-Central since 1998. He previously served as Ireland's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Tánaiste, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, as well as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
He had previously announced in April that he told Fine Gael party colleague Simon Harris, who was at that point the Taoiseach-in-waiting in the wake of Leo Varadkar's surprise resignation, that he would "not be making myself available to serve in Cabinet when the Dáil resumes next week."
Coveney said at the time that he would continue to work as a TD for Cork South Central, but acknowledged that the Fine Gael party needs renewal.
On Wednesday, Coveney announced that he would be stepping out of politics at the next election.
As per Irish law, the same Dáil shall not continue for longer than five years from the date of its first meeting. As such, the current 33rd Dáil must be dissolved by the President of Ireland at the request of the Taoiseach no later than February 19, 2025, and a general election must be called by March 22, 2025.
Today I write to FG members in my constituency to say thank you.
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) July 10, 2024
Being elected for 26 yrs has been the privilege of my life. I will forever be grateful for the faith people in CorkSouthCentral have put in me.
Now is the right time for renewal in FG & for me to change direction. pic.twitter.com/4occw2d0PO
In his letter to Fine Gael party members in his constituency on Wednesday, Coveney wrote: “All my political career I have tried to do what's right for Cork, for the country that I love, and for our party that I've given my working life to since the age of 25.
“However, I have come to the view some time ago that it's time for me to step out of politics at the next election, after the extraordinary privilege of serving this constituency for 26 years.
“I hope you can respect my decision to seek new horizons in life outside of Dáil Éireann.”
He continued: "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."
He said his career, which has taken him to "every corner of the world," was only possible "because of the trust and generosity of the people of Cork South Central to whom I'll be forever grateful."
He continued: "I wouldn't be leaving if I didn't believe the future was bright. Right across the country we saw new candidates emerge in the recent local elections.
"Our party is strong and ambitious, our new leader has brought an energy that is reinvigorating the organisation at every level.
"In this constituency we've been promoting and encouraging new talent for years and have ambitious, talented potential candidates to replace me for the electoral tests ahead."
Coveney said that the main purpose of his letter was to thank the members of his constituency for their support and loyalty to Fine Gael.
"We can be very proud of what's been achieved, our politics has always worked for prosperity and a fairer society, protecting vulnerable people and rewarding hard work," he wrote.
"We have remained true to those values, even in the face of the unprecedented challenges of the economic crash, Brexit, Covid, and the inflationary and tragic human consequences of war in Ukraine.
"We still have much work to do of course, but Fine Gael is the party best placed to protect Ireland, our people and our communities.
"Stay positive always. With your continued support Fine Gael will ensure that good politics and good people continue in Government."
Simon Coveney, pictured here in 2020. (RollingNews.ie)
When on the Neil Prederville Show on RedFM on Wednesday if his decision was cemented during the Cabinet discussions in April, Coveney said: "There may have been a place for me, if I had pushed for that.
"I think the likelihood would have been that Simon [Harris] would have appointed a senior minister in Cork if I'd been available to do that.
"To be honest with you, I'd been thinking for some time, before that change, as to whether I'd run in the upcoming general election or not.
"I've had the privilege of getting elected in a by-election, I made a decision to stand in that by-election at the age of 25. Subsequently, I've had five general elections.
"I've given all of my working life to politics so far, so I did think a lot about that with my family over the last few years.
"When the leadership change happened in Fine Gael, it was a trigger moment for me to look to the future both politically and outside of politics and say, look, now is a good time to leave on my own terms when I'm working hard and getting things done.
"I certainly don't want to be hanging around politics for any longer than I'm making a significant contribution."
Coveney said he told Harris to consider others for Cabinet, "and that's what he did, and I think that's worked.
"Fine Gael is in a process of renewal. We had just had a good local election and European election, opinion polls are strong going into the general election.
"So I think the decisions I've made have been the right ones for the party and I think they're probably the right ones for me as well."
April 6, 2024: Simon Coveney and Simon Harris at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis. (RollingNews.ie)
Taoiseach Simon Harris responded on Wednesday, saying Coveney is "not just a colleague, he is a friend."
Harris said Coveney "leaves an outstanding footprint in Irish politics.
"I think we can all agree Simon’s role during Brexit will be his legacy. It was his greatest contribution in politics and of immense importance to this country.
“Today, I particularly want to pay tribute to Simon’s wife Ruth, his three daughters Jessica, Beth and Annalise.
“Simon’s role as Minister for Foreign Affairs meant many nights away from home and I want to thank them today for lending him to the country.
“I know they and the wider Coveney family are so proud of the role he has played in Irish politics, continuing the legacy of his father Hugh. I wish him all the very best.”
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