After 26 years in representative politics, the Independent TD announced the decision in a statement last night.
Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway Denis Naughten has announced he will not be standing at the next election
In a statement issued last night he said he took the decision for both personal and professional reasons, after giving 26 years of his life to national politics.
A former member of Fine Gael, he served as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment for two years, until his resignation in 2018 following controversy surrounding the National Broadband Plan.
The Taoiseach is paying tribute to Deputy Naughten for the enormous contribution he made to politics nationally, and to his native county.
Leo Varadkar says he was absolutely convinced the National Broadband Plan would not be a reality today were it not for Deputy Naughten’s work on it as Minister.
He insists he won't be a 'lame duck' TD for the remainder of the Dáil term but it's time to try out different and new things and leave politics.
Deputy Naughten says he's given his replacement two years notice to get their campaign ready:
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