Quinn quits as Labour leader
Labour Party leader Ruairi Quinn stepped down from the post today after five years in the job.
The 57-year-old father of three announced that he would not seek a second term as leader following disappointing general election results for the party in May.
He said: “The job of leader requires total dedication, which I have given, with the help and assistance of my family over the last five years.
“But I believe that it is now time to pass on the baton of leadership.”
Mr Quinn's term as leader expires on October 25 and candidates to replace him - among the favourites are deputy leader Brendan Howlin and frontbencher Eamon Gilmore - are expected to make their intentions known in the coming days.
In a written statement, Mr Quinn said: “I have decided not to seek a second term as leader of the Labour Party when my current term expires. Accordingly I have written to the general secretary of the party informing him of my decision.
“I will complete my mandate as leader with a vigorous campaign during the forthcoming referendum on the enlargement of the European Union.”
He went on: “I have been honoured and proud to be the leader of the Labour Party, the oldest political party in Ireland and one which has given exceptional service and commitment to the people of Ireland and the Irish state.
“While the last general election may not have brought all the Labour Party would have wished, we did return the second largest parliamentary Labour Party in our history.
“We have made some progress but there is much more to be done.”
Mr Quinn became leader of the party in 1997 after it lost coalition power at the general election under Dick Spring.
Co Dublin-born architect Mr Quinn’s parliamentary career stretched back to the 1970s. He has served in Government as Enterprise Minister and Finance Minister.
Speaking to reporters outside parliament later, Mr Quinn said the “stresses and pressures” of the job had helped him take his decision.
Being party leader was an “enormous intrusion on a person’s time, resources and energy”, he said.
He said: “I had to decide if I wanted to serve another six years at the top of the Labour Party with all the stresses and pressures that entails and I decided, no.
“It has been a very intense period that has taken a lot of time and emotional energy. You cannot maintain that intensity of involvement and engagement endlessly.”
