Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been dealt another blow as ally John Paul Phelan announced that he would not contest the next general election.
Mr Phelan, 44, is the fourth Fine Gael TD to announce their retirement since the last general election, alongside Donegal TD Joe McHugh and Kerry’s Brendan Griffin. Former Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy retired in April 2021.
Mr Phelan, who suffered a heart attack in July 2020, told local radio station KCLR that he was prioritising his health.
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He said: “Physically since I was sick, I haven’t been the same. I won’t be the same. But I’d like to be around for a good bit longer.
“I got a second chance that a lot of people don’t get. I had a 100% blockage of the left artery. 12% of people live.
“Without [my wife] Claire, I would be dead.
“[The doctors] said there will be a sense of euphoria. That lasted for some time, a sense, literally, of getting out of jail.”
Mr Phelan was a keen supporter of the Taoiseach and his departure has been seen as a blow by some in the party.
Several politicians in Fine Gael told the Irish Mirror that while they were not expecting Mr Phelan to announce his departure, they were not particularly shocked by the news either.
One TD said: “JP has done the right thing. This is about his health”.
However, one source questioned “who is next” as they predicted that another seven or eight TDs could retire ahead of the next election. There is now speculation that long term TDs like Bernard Durkan, Michael Ring, Charlie Flanagan, Michael Creed, Paul Kehoe, David Stanton and Joe Carey may not run again.
One politician said: “The Boundary Commission report will be published in July and an awful lot of people will make up their minds very, very quickly after that.
“This could be like the 2011 Fianna Fáil exodus when the majority of the party left before the general election. You could be looking at that kind of scenario.”
Another politician stated that there are a number of TDs who have yet to turn 50 and could still retire on their full pension.
There are also concerns about the party’s poor showing in the polls, with the latest poll putting the party at 15%.
One Fine Gael source said that while the poll is “ok on its own” if there was another poll like it, there could be trouble within the party for Mr Varadkar
They argued that his core support group and the politicians who drove his leadership campaign are now gone and it would “be very hard for him to change the narrative of the parliamentary party as there is no one there whispering there for him”.
Mr Varadkar paid tribute to Mr Phelan, saying that he had “given 24 years of dedicated public service, as a Councillor, Senator, TD, and Minister of State”.
“I know in doing so he is putting his health and family first.”
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