LABOUR TD BRENDAN Ryan has announced he won’t contest the upcoming general election. 

With an election expected to be announced in the coming weeks, 66-year-old Ryan said he made the decision to stand down after Labour Councillor Duncan Smith had a strong showing in his Dublin Fingal constituency’s November bye-election.

In a statement this evening, Ryan said “the time is now right for the transition to the next generation.”

Ryan was first elected to the Dáil in 2011 when Labour reached 37 seats and was one of just seven Labour TDs to retain their seats in the February 2016 general election.

Said Ryan: “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.”

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He added: “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. 

“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 Labour’s general election candidate in Ryan’s constituency will be.