Fianna Fáil leadership contender Darragh O’Brien has taken a step back in the race to replace Micheál Martin by saying he is backing Mr Martin to lead the party into the next general election, and beyond that again.
Mr O’Brien was seen as one of the leading contenders to take over from Mr Martin, who has just stepped down as Taoiseach and taken up the role of Tánaiste.
It was expected up until a few months ago that he would step aside well in time for the next general election, due in February 2025 at the latest, to give a successor a good chance to bed-in.
