Paschal Donohoe: 'I will be putting my name forward in the next general election'

The Fine Gael minister also wants to put the election posters controversy behind him

Paschal Donohoe said he believes a general election is still "a long way away" but he said he is confident Fine Gael will increase its seats after the next election. Picture: Pa

Fine Gael minister Paschal Donohoe has addressed speculation around his future in politics, stating that he will run again in the next General Election.

The Dublin Central TD has strongly denied rumours that he may join five other Fine Gael colleagues in stepping down at the end of this Dáil term.

"The only job I am focused on at the moment is the one I have," he said. "I will be putting my name forward in the next general election."

Mr Donohoe's confirmation that he will run again comes just days after Simon Coveney told the Irish Examiner that he, too, is committed to standing in the next election. It is a further boost to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, whose party is set to lose several prominent TDs before the next election, including David Stanton, Brendan Griffin, John Paul Phelan, Joe McHugh, and Michael Creed.

Asked about the postering controversy, during which it emerged that Mr Donohoe did not fully declare expenses in relation to the erecting of election posters by businessman Michael Stone, he said he "really regrets that that happened". He said the controversy has not put him off politics but added that "of course it was difficult".

"I made a mistake, I owned up to it, fixed it and as I said I appreciate that the matter was dealt with speedily by Sipo. I want to put it behind me," he told RTÉ's Claire Byrne show.

In a separate interview on Newstalk, Mr Donohoe said he believes a general election is still "a long way away" but he said he is confident Fine Gael will increase its seats after the next election.

He also defended three Fine Gael ministers of state who called for a €1,000 income tax reduction for workers in the upcoming Budget. He said the op-ed written by Jennifer Carrol MacNeill, Martin Heydon and Peter Burke is the "kind of thing that does happen when political parties are making points about their own political identities."

Mr Donohoe that in his position he hears differing views on a daily basis, both from politicians and outside the Dáil, about how the public finances should be spent. 

Turning to the Budget, the Minister For Public Expenditure has said it is "too early" to give a "clear answer" as to whether families and households will receive further one-off cost-of-living support.

"I expect that there will be some measures that we've had in the past that may be needed again, but I really can't give an indication as to what the breadth of them will be or what the measures could be." However, he pointed to positive signs and said that inflation is expected to drop from 8% last year to around 5% this year and 2.5% next year.

Asked about changes to the USC, he said: "I never said the Universal Social Charge was a temporary tax when it was introduced."

He said he would approach a reduction in USC with "great care" as there is a concern that the amount of tax collected, especially through corporation tax, could reduce in the years ahead.