Former senator Morrissey quits politics and says PDs in trouble

Former Progressive Democrats senator Tom Morrissey bowed out of politics yesterday, conceding that the future of the PDs was under severe threat.

Mr Morrissey, who twice stood unsuccessfully as a Dáil candidate in Dublin, said he had quit politics in order to dedicate more time and energy to his printing business.

He insisted the move was not linked to the party's decision to provide Seanad seats to former TDs including Fiona O'Malley, who lost her Dáil seat in Dún Laoghaire, and Cllr Ciarán Cannon from East Galway.

Mr Morrissey said yesterday he had told the party he did not wish to serve another term in the Seanad and had not sought a nomination.

"I loved and enjoyed working for the party. I found that I had worked so hard over the last five years trying to win a seat. I had said to close friends that if I didn't make it as a TD I wouldn't be going back as a senator," he told RTÉ radio.

When asked if the future of the party was in jeopardy, he said: "I hope not but, being pragmatic and coming from a business background, if you lose all your customers you're in serious trouble. The challenge is monumental."

The departure of Mr Morrissey is another blow for the PDs, which lost six of its eight TDs at the last election.

It means Fiona O'Malley is likely to be a frontrunner in any future leadership contest. "It's premature to say whether I'd be a candidate. I haven't thrown my hat into the ring," said Ms O'Malley yesterday, while expressing enthusiasm about helping to rebuild the party.