Roscommon Galway Independent TD Denis Naughten has announced his intention not to contest the next general election.
The 49 year old has been involved in national politics for the past 26 years, having been elected to Seanad Eireann in 1997 to the seat held by his late father.
He went on to become elected to the Dail later that year for the constituency of Longford Roscommon, and was re-elected for that constituency in 2002.
He also served on Roscommon County Council and the Western Health Board from 1997 to 2003.
While the constituencies involving Roscommon changed twice in subsequent years Naughten went on to be re-elected each time.
He lost the Fine Gael party whip in 2011 during the controversy over the closure of the A&E Department at Roscommon Hospital, and has served as an Independent member of Dail Eireann since.
Denis Naughten was appointed Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment after the 2016 general election but resigned that position in 2018 after controversy about meetings he held with a bidder for the National Broadband Plan.
Statement issued by Denis Naughten this evening
I have decided, for both personal and professional reasons, after giving 26 years of my life to national politics that now is the time to step back and explore new opportunities.
I want to thank the people of counties Longford, Leitrim, Galway and Roscommon most sincerely for their support over the last quarter of a century. It has truly been an honour to represent the people from those counties in Dáil Éireann over that time.
I want to particularly thank the many people who canvassed for me over the years, some of whom had previously canvassed for my later father Liam.
I want to sincerely thank all the staff who have worked with me over the years, and I want to particularly mention Deirdre Concannon & Jill Mellor and also my family for their support over those years, which at times were very difficult and challenging.
I entered politics at a young age, in difficult circumstances, and it was always my intention to turn my hand to something outside politics. The time has now come for that to happen and to provide an opportunity for others to represent the people of this area in Dáil Éireann.
I provided support to the Government as an Independent TD at a time when political stability was required, representing my country at international level as Minister, furthering our collective national ambition towards a lower carbon society by imaginative and progressive policies on behalf of all our people.
Since my initial election I have fought tirelessly for the improvement and delivery of our health services at both local and national level. Whilst protecting our local services was a condition of my support for the Government, the establishment of an all-party Committee on Health - which produced the first Sláintecare report, and which was the genesis of our current pathway - I believe will ultimately prove to be a key turning point in the delivery of a proper and responsive healthcare system in Ireland.
My achievement in ensuring the delivery of fibre optic broadband to every home in Ireland, something that I had worked on for over 15 years, is something that I regard as a significant step in improving access to the people of all local communities in Ireland that I was honoured to represent and serve.”
