Former TD Noel O’Flynn leaves Fianna Fáil

Former TD Noel O'Flynn has left Fianna Fáil, seemingly due to his dissatisfaction with party leader Micheál Martin.

“Having been a member of Fianna Fáil since 1978, my membership has now expired and I will not be renewing,” Mr O’Flynn tweeted today.

Mr O’Flynn could not be contacted for comment, but last March he criticised party leader Micheál Martin and said the party was cannibalising itself under his leadership.

Mr O'Flynn said that Mr Martin was "an interim leader" and that he was still closely associated with the regimes of both Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen, with whom he served in cabinet.

“I voted for Micheál Martin in the leadership. But I said three years ago that he was an interim leader and I am still of that view,” said Mr O’Flynn.

Speaking on The Neil Prendeville Show on Cork’s Red FM in March, Mr O’Flynn said that one of Mr Martin’s problems is that he was in government when the State went into recession.

“Micheal has the same difficulty [as Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen] because he was in government for 14 years and sat at the cabinet table,” he said.

Political career

First elected to Dáil Éireann in 1997 for Cork North-Central, Mr O’Flynn represented the constituency for 14 years before stepping down at the 2011 general election.

Mr O’Flynn said he agreed not to run in 2011 following a request from Mr Martin, as the party leader believed Fianna Fáil had a better chance of winning a seat by running one candidate.

He said he was appalled by what has happened to Fianna Fáil over the past few years, and said the party had failed to attract public support since the last general election.

“Look at what has happened with Fianna Fáil since 2011 - they have no traction, they have no identity, their policies are not acceptable to the public,” he said.

Mr O'Flynn said that he would never stand for Fianna Fáil again and it was unlikely that he would ever stand for Fine Gael or Sinn Féin, but said he might consider running as an Independent.