Statement by Brendan Ryan TD on General Election

At a meeting of the Labour constituency executive in Dublin Fingal tonight, Brendan Ryan TD has announced that he will not be contesting the upcoming General Election.

Deputy Ryan said:

“It has been a great privilege and honour for me to represent the people of Dublin Fingal in Dáil Éireann for nearly nine years now, and in Seanad Éireann from 2007 to 2011. I want to thank my constituents and friends for their support over that time and I am very grateful for the trust they placed in me over three general elections.

“It was a momentous period of time that saw great change and upheaval across the political spectrum and I am proud to have played my part in that as a Labour Party representative.

“I announced tonight to my constituency colleagues that I have decided not to contest the next General Election, whenever it comes.

“We have always been a strong and committed Labour team in Dublin Fingal, and we have had a very successful local elections in 2019. We elected a great team of young Councillors with one elected in each local electoral area in our Dáil constituency. We gained a seat in Skerries and unfortunately left one behind us in Donabate.

“I spoke to all our Councillors after the May local elections and told them I had no desire to hold any of them back if they wished to take the next step and run for the Dáil. The recent by-election presented an opportunity for the next generation to come through, and our candidate Cllr. Duncan Smith showed the strength of the Labour Party in Dublin Fingal. I am confident that we can hold our Labour seat in a General Election with a new candidate and because of that I believe the time is now right for the transition to the next generation.

“There will now be a selection convention to decide who our general election candidate will be.

“I will be campaigning to ensure Fingal elects a new Labour TD, and we will do that as a united team. I will then return to being an activist.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank my parliamentary colleagues for their friendship over the years, and as our Whip it was an honour to work with them.

“Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank my family for their dedication and support throughout my political career. They are the unseen and often unacknowledged supporters who shoulder the burden of a political career.”

Labour Party Leader Brendan Howlin TD thanked Brendan Ryan for his years of service to the people of Dublin Fingal and the Labour Party on his announcement that he would not contest the next General Election, saying:

“While Brendan will continue to serve the people of Fingal up until a general election is called, I fully appreciate this was a difficult decision for him to reach.

“For over a decade, Brendan Ryan has been a stalwart of the Labour Parliamentary Party and I want to acknowledge his years of service in his constituency, work he will continue to carry out up until this Dáil is dissolved.

“In his position as Whip he has played a pivotal role in the ongoing work of rebuilding our Party, and locally he has set a fine example by bringing forward new candidates and electing a new generation of Councillors for our Party.

“I know he will be determined to ensure whoever our candidate is for Dublin Fingal will be elected to Dáil Éireann, and you couldn’t ask for a more determined advocate campaigning for you.“