Former Labour TD Kathleen Lynch set to run again in the next election
Former Labour TD Kathleen Lynch is set to run again in the next election, saying the decision is "clear cut" now that she has recovered from her party's "bruising" 2016 collapse, .
The former minister of state for disabilities confirmed she will put her name forward to run in the Cork North Central constituency in the coming weeks, and said she has the full backing of Labour headquarters to do so.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner at the party's annual conference in Wexford, Ms Lynch admitted last year's election defeat was "bruising" and that to "deny that would be to try to fool yourself".
However, Ms Lynch said she believes she still has a "valuable contribution" to make and that her decision to seek a Dáil return is "pretty clear cut".
"We're gearing up for an election, it's usually a small event that triggers them, and I will be running again as the candidate in Cork North Central. If that's the party's wishes and at the moment that is what's on the agenda, I will be the candidate.
"I suppose after coming out of an election that was fairly bruising, to deny that would be to try to fool yourself, not just for the candidates by the way, for their families, for their supporters, and for those who had supported me for the last 25-30 years, of course you had to sit back and re-assess.
"That's what it [the past year] always was. Once I was re-assured I had a valuable contribution to make, the decision was fairly clear cut as far as I was concerned.
"I will be running in the next election and we are gearing up for one," she said.
While claims have been made about Ms Lynch's health in the past after she was rushed to hospital in 2013 and suffered from septicaemia after being bitten by a fly, she said there is no issue and she has "completely recovered".
The 64-year-old was a TD between 1994 and 1997, and from 2002 until 2016 in the four seat Cork North Central constituency, whose TDs currently include Fianna Fáil's Billy Kelleher and first time TDs Jonathan O'Brien of Sinn Féin, Mick Barry of Solidarity-PBP and Dara Murphy of Fine Gael.
