The former teacher, who is a trained psychotherapist, was one of the few Fianna Fáil TDs to be sceptical about coalition with Fine Gael after the 2020 general election.

He felt an offer should have been made to Sinn Féin back then, but he now believes that “doing business with them (Sinn Féin) now is out of the question”.

Lahart has been a public representative for Fianna Fáil since 1999 first as a member of South Dublin County Council from 1999 to 2016 and then as a TD.

He topped the poll in 2016 and was pleased that this around Fianna Fáil got more than 20 per cent of the vote in the constituency and his own first preference vote was up 2,000 on 2020.

His running mate, Cllr Teresa Costello also performed strongly. A former adviser to the Fianna Fáil-Labour coalition of Albert Reynolds and Dick Spring, Lahart believes there is a “natural synergy” between the two parties. “I’d have no issue doing business with the Labour Party.”