Eamon Ryan: 'Politics was a privilege but it's time to do something different'

Last year's election saw a significant level of attrition among politicians. Elaine Loughlin talks to the former Green leader about his decision to step down and what lies ahead

Eamon Ryan with his dog Sooty in Clonskeagh in Dublin. For Mr Ryan, being out of the political bubble and out of work is ‘strange’ but ‘familiar’. Picture: Gareth Chaney

Eamon Ryan has been here before, so time in the employment wilderness does not faze him.

Last June, Mr Ryan, who had been Green Party leader since 2011 and was first elected to the Dáil in 2002, announced that he would be stepping down.