Labour Party TD Seán Sherlock has announced he will not be contesting the next general election saying it has been a “difficult decision” that he has made with a “heavy heart”.
He is the second Labour Party TD in recent days to announce they will not run in the next election after Wexford TD and former minister and party leader Brendan Howlin did so on Friday.
Mr Sherlock said last month he was grappling with whether or not there was a future for him in politics in the wake of the Electoral Commission’s constituency review.
The commission recommended that 14,400 people in Mallow and its surrounds – which are currently in the Cork East constituency – be added to the Cork North Central.
Mallow is Mr Sherlock’s hometown and his late father Joe previously represented the area in the Dáil.
Cork North Central is to go from four to five seats as a result of the changes proposed by the Commission.
Mr Sherlock, a Cork East TD, was considering whether to move constituencies or leave politics altogether.
He said on Monday: “It would be wrong of me to pretend that the recent publication of the Electoral Commission’s Constituency Report 2023 has not influenced my decision.
“It has. The Commission had a difficult job to do, but the impact on Mallow and Cork East has been profound.
“I always anticipated some change to our constituency, but the scale of that change is so extensive that it caused me to reflect on my own political future.”
He also said: “I have never been afraid of a political challenge and have fought difficult elections successfully.
“However this time I had to weigh up the splintering of the areas I have represented and worked hard for over the last 20 years across two constituencies and the immense challenge of trying to get elected in an entirely new constituency.”
Mr Sherlock continued: “Having considered this with my wife, Máire, my family and my closest political supporters, and as a dad of three young children, I have decided that the time is now right for me to step aside.”
He said he has told party leader Ivana Bacik of his decision as well as his Labour friends and colleagues, in a statement saying: “It has been the privilege of my life to serve as a public representative for over 20 years.”
His career began in 2003 as a town councillor for Mallow and he later served on Cork County Council before being elected to the Dáil in 2007.
Mr Sherlock said: “I am deeply grateful to the people of Cork East for re-electing me in each subsequent election on both good days and bad for the Labour Party.”
He said his entry into politics “followed in the footsteps of my late father, Joe”.
“I am proud to have continued his hard work serving the people of Cork East,” Mr Sherlock added, saying: “I worked on many local and national issues on their behalf most notably in ensuring the future, beyond any doubt, of Mallow General Hospital as well as ensuring the building of many new schools in my time as Minister of State in the Department of Education.”
Mr Sherlock was a junior minister in three departments during the Fine Gael-Labour Government between 2011 and 2016 including the research and innovation brief at the Department of Jobs and Enterprise and he worked on North-South co-operation at the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“I am particularly proud of the role that I played in the Stormont House Agreements and the role I played as chair of the Research Council of Ministers which agreed the Horizon 2020 programme of €70 billion during the Irish presidency of the EU in 2013,” Mr Sherlock said.
In his statement Mr Sherlock said he will “always be committed to the Labour Party and to it’s values and principles, and I know that there are positive days ahead for the party. Labour is needed in Irish politics.”
Mr Sherlock said he will focus now on assisting local election candidates in Cork as well as working with candidates selected to contest the general election.
“The Sherlock family, whether through my late father, Joe, my sister Úna or through my own work, have always sought to serve the people to the best of our ability.
“Mallow is my home. It is where I live, where I work, and where I raise my family.
“I will continue to represent and play my part to make north and east Cork the best possible place to live and give those without a voice a way to be heard, until my final day in Dáil Éireann,” Mr Sherlock said.
Ms Bacik thanked Mr Sherlock for his “many years of service” to Labour and the people of Cork East.
The Labour leader said: “I know, having spoken with Seán, just how difficult a decision this was for him, but I also know that he has weighed up all the options, and that he has considered now is the right time for him to step back.”
She said he had been “a great support to me” as chairman of the parliamentary party and his politics “are rooted in the trade union and rural community roots of our party”.
Ms Bacik added: “Politics can be all-consuming and does take a hidden toll on families, and for Seán this has also been a factor from an early age. I wish him, Máire and his three children all the best for the future.”
