Lynch confirms candidacy in next general election

Minister of State at the Department of Health Kathleen Lynch has confirmed she will be standing in the next general election.

The Cork North Central Labour TD missed the deadline for nominations ahead of the selection convention next Thursday.

However, in a statement she confirmed she would be contesting after a meeting with Tánaiste Joan Burton.

Ms Lynch said: "Before I formally declared my candidacy, I was anxious to discuss issues in relation to my own areas of interest, and to do that I needed to speak to both Joan Burton and Brendan Howlin, which I have done over the weekend."Unfortunately because of diary clashes, it proved impossible to have those conversations before Friday, which meant that I have not been in a position to confirm my candidacy until today.

"I have been privileged to serve the people of Cork as their public representative for over 20 years, and I hope to continue to be their representative in Dail Eireann for some years yet."

Ms Lynch is viewed as crucial to the party's chances of retaining a seat in Cork North Central, where the other sitting TDs include Sinn Féin's Jonathan O'Brien, Billy Kelleher of Fianna Fáil, and Minister of State for European Affairs Dara Murphy (Fine Gael).