Second Roscommon-Galway TD weighing up his political future

Following on from Denis Naughten's decision not to stand for re-election to the Dáil, a second TD in the Roscommon Galway constituency has said he's currently undecided about whether or not he will be going forward for the next general election.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice, who comfortably topped the poll as an Independent at the last general election in 2020, said on Monday that he's in the early stages of attempting to set up a political party that would focus on rural issues.

Whether or not he succeeds in establishing such a rural political group will determine whether or not he runs for re-election, he said.

"I am talking to people in different counties at the moment about putting a rural party, or something like that, together. It's difficult.

"A lot of people will tell you how great you are and how wonderful it is, but when they're asked to put their name on a (ballot) sheet they'll say, I'll do anything other than that.

"If that (rural party) works out, then I'll be running. If it doesn't, then I won't be running. That's as straight up as I can be with you."

Deputy Fitzmaurice said the outcome of his attempt to form a rural party, and his own decision arising from that, would be known in a matter of months.

"I've watched the Greens, and what they've done, and I'd be very opposed to them. With the way politics has moved at the moment, having the 1, 2, 3, 4 Independents, or whatever, isn't going to cut it," he told the Westmeath Independent.

"There's plenty of people giving out about what's wrong in rural Ireland. It's now about either doing something or forgetting about it."

He said the days when a lone Independent TD, like Tony Gregory, could be an influential figure in Government were gone. "It's going to need a block that's actually even more than what the Greens have, to be frank about it."

In addition, he said, politics today was "dirtier" than it used to be, and persuading people to become part of the political process was increasingly difficult.

The rural party he's trying to form was "basically in its infancy," he said.

"I'm not saying it will get over the line in any way... It's up to people in different places. There will probably be an odd town hall meeting, here and there, to see what's the story.

"It's about getting people that would be solid, steady, and would basically put five years of their life on hold. And people like that are hard got."

He said the aim would be to form part of a group that would play a role in influencing the direction of the next Government.

"We can do so much day to day as a TD, but it's like the difference between playing league football and championship. Obviously the aim is to get into the championship, and if that doesn't come about, you're not going to be up there walking around corridors.

"That's my honest opinion. There's no point in myself being above (in Dublin) on my own. I have plenty of other stuff to do," he stated.