Former minister of state Mr Toddy O'Sullivan, of the Labour Party, has decided not to contest the forthcoming general election.
Mr O'Sullivan lost his Dail seat in 1997. He had been considering his political future for some time, said a spokesman for the Labour Party, and informed the media yesterday of his decision.
He was first elected to the Dail in 1981 for the constituency of Cork North Central and he represented that area until 1987, when he won the Labour seat in Cork South Central previously held by Ms Eileen Desmond, who had retired.
Mr O'Sullivan was minister of state at the Department of the Environment from February 1986 to January 1987. He was minister of state at the Department of Tourism and Trade during the rainbow coalition. He was also at one point chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party.