Former education minister Noel Davern has today announced he will not contest the next general election.
The Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary South turned 60 on Christmas Eve and said he was retiring because technology had caught up with him and that he owed his family some time.
He was first elected to the Dáil in 1969 after winning a seat previously held by his brother, Don, who died suddenly in 1968. Their father, Michael, had held the seat from 1948 until his retirement in 1965.
Mr Davern was minister of education in November 1991. He was appointed by Charles Haughey but was sacked when Albert Reynolds became Taoiseach just three months later.
After a spell in opposition as European affairs spokesman, he was appointed minister of state at the Department of Agriculture in 1997 by incoming taoiseach Bertie Ahern and served the full term of the government until 2002. He was involved in handling the foot-and-mouth crisis in 2001.
The Cashel native was also an MEP in the first directly elected European Parliament in 1979. He did not contest the 1981 general election, choosing to concentrate on matters in Brussels.
But when he lost his European seat in 1984 he re-entered local politics and regained his Dáil seat in 1987.
He is currently chairman of the Members' Interest Committee (Ethics) and leads the Irish delegation to the Council of Europe.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern paid tribute to Mr Davern saying he will be a loss to the party and Irish politics generally.
"Over the years, the Davern family has given remarkable service to the people of Tipperary and Noel Davern has been a stalwart of our party.
"He is one of our most experienced and popular members and, when Noel finally passes off the political stage, he will be sadly missed by all his colleagues," Mr Ahern said.
Fine Gael TD for Tipperary South Tom Hayes said Mr Davern "always put the constituency first and worked hard for the whole of South Tipperary.
"The best judge of Noel Davern's character and achievement is that he was consistently returned to the Dáil with a significant portion of the vote in countless elections," Mr Hayes said.
Mr Davern's decision could open the way for Senator Martin Mansergh to lead the Fianna Fáil's fight in the three-seat constituency at the next election. Mr Mansergh, who will be 60 this year, contested a general election for the first time in 2002 and came fourth.
He is the Taoiseach's chief adviser on Northern Ireland and is a member of the President's advisory body the Council of State.