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The Fine Gael TD for Donegal Joe McHugh has decided not to contest the next general election, indicating his intention to retire from politics when the current Dáil is dissolved.
In a statement issued by Fine Gael on Wednesday, Mr McHugh said he had taken the decision for family reasons.
“The reason for this is a simple one,” the statement said. “I have three children and, as they grow older, I want to be around more and available to them. Politics is a 24/7 job that demands absolute commitment. I have given politics everything I could throughout my career and it has been my greatest honour to serve as a TD representing the people of Donegal in Dáil Éireann.
“I have always given my full commitment to my role as a public representative and this won’t change in this current Dáil. However, after the next election, I want to focus more on my family life,” Mr McHugh said.
Mr McHugh has been under intense local pressure on the Mica issue, with campaigners demanding that the State meet the full costs of restoring or rebuilding their homes.
He has been influential in the discussions in Government about a redress scheme which is intended to cover almost all the costs for the affected residents, but campaigners continue to demand “100 per cent redress” for all those affected. Discussions within Government on the scheme are continuing.
It is understood that Mr McHugh suffered ill health in the past year, but has recovered.
His decision to retire will bring to a close a political career that seemed destined to feature a lengthy stay in Cabinet. A junior minister from 2014, he was a close ally of Leo Varadkar, and when Mr Varadkar became Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach, Mr McHugh was appointed Government chief whip.
The following year, when Denis Naughten’s resignation created a vacancy for a full Cabinet job, he became minister for education.
But Mr Varadkar’s Cabinet numbers were tighter when the present Government was formed in 2020, and McHugh was one of those who lost out.
He declined the offer of a junior ministerial post, and instead became chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs.
McHugh is married to Olwyn Enright, the former Fine Gael TD. She gave up her Laois-Offaly seat in 2011, shortly after the birth of the couple’s second child.