Socialist TD Joe Higgins has announced he will not contest the next general election.
The Dublin West TD says he will however continue to be an active force fighting for the people of Dublin 15 and beyond.
Deputy Higgins was first elected to Dublin City Council 23 years ago and has served time as a TD and an MEP.
He has issued a statement this morning, telling the people of Dublin West, “It has been my privilege to work alongside many people from every part of the Dublin 15 area who have displayed such commitment to defending and developing the community. I will continue to fight for the people of Dublin West as a public representative over the next two years as I have tried to do since I was first elected to Dublin County Council 23 years ago. In particular we need to step up the fight against the policy of austerity which is robbing ordinary people of any chance of a real “recovery”, just as we were robbed during the last six years of the crisis.”
Deputy Higgins will reach his 70s during the course of the next Dáil term and has said he is stepping aside to allow the next generation of socialists to come to the fore.
His party says he has gone public now because of the 'inevitable focus that will come on Dublin West because of the By-Election'.
Higgins & Irish Water's Padraig Slyne at a water metering protest in Littlepace last year
Long career
Higgins has spent 40 years in politics - some of the highlights from that career are listed below.
- First elected as a councillor in 1991, Joe Higgins led the campaign that defeated water charges nationally in 1996 and was propelled by that movement into the Dáil for the first time in 1997.
- Higgins spent a month in prison in 2003, along with 21 other activists, after a campaign of active resistance to bin charges.
- Along with other activists, Joe also led an industrial dispute in 2005 that will have a special mention in the industrial and labour history of this country – The Gama Strike.
- Narrowly losing his seat in 2007, Joe won a seat in the 2009 European Elections, before being elected back into the Dáil in 2011.
