Several Fianna Fáil TDs are seriously considering not running in next year's general election because of frustrations with life as backbenchers, Dublin North TD Jim Glennon has warned.
Mr Glennon, who was elected in 2002, has announced that he will not run for the Dáil again - this creates a major problem for FF as it seeks to retain its two seats in his constituency.
Saying that he had spoken to the Taoiseach about his intentions before the summer, he told Mr Ahern of his final decision on Saturday, though he said he did not give the Taoiseach an opportunity to persuade him to change his mind.
"I said to the Taoiseach yesterday in our conversation that if he handed me the keys of a ministerial Merc while we were speaking, I would have passed them back to him and said 'thanks, but no thanks'," he told TV3's The Political Party.
He said Fianna Fáil backbenchers were frequently frustrated by the failure of the parliamentary party to discuss burning political issues, such as the statutory rape case last May and the recent controversy surrounding Mr Ahern's finances.
Last May Mr Glennon was one of a number of the party's TDs to insist that the Supreme Court's judgment in the "C" case had to be debated by TDs. This provoked a climbdown by the party leadership who agreed to a meeting of the parliamentary party's justice committee within 24 hours.
Mr Glennon (53), a former Irish rugby international, was selected in February to run again in Dublin North alongside Cllr Michael Kennedy from Swords and Cllr Darragh O'Brien from Malahide.
He said he had not been in a position to announce his decision last February. "I haven't anything specific lined up, but there are opportunities open to me now at 53 that would not be open to me at the end of the life of the next Dáil were I to have been elected."
Regarded as one of the most ambitious and talented of the TDs elected in 2002, Mr Glennon was known to have been disappointed to have been passed over by the Taoiseach for promotion.
However, he said his decision to quit was made for "lifestyle reasons", having enjoyed a first month's holiday this summer since he was elected.
"I saw the lifestyle of a lot of people of my own age. And I wondered how they could get three afternoons off a week to play golf when I hadn't managed to hit a ball for three years," he told The Irish Times.
"I'm not making myself out to be a martyr, but what I am saying is that most politicians are on call, maybe not quite 24 hours a day nowadays with modern communications, but they're certainly on call seven days a week."
While he said he was glad to have had the opportunity to represent Dublin North, he said he had frequently found dealing with local authorities and Government departments frustrating.
Paying tribute to the Taoiseach's leadership, he said the country had been transformed over the past 10 years.
"It has been a wonderful time to be in politics, and to be a member of a political party that has emerged from difficult times with new strength and confidence." While he has no firm business plans, he pointed to his own sporting background and the major investment being made by the Government in sporting infrastructure as offering opportunities
His departure will make it extremely difficult for Fianna Fáil to retain two seats in Dublin North. The decision will almost certainly force party headquarters to add a third candidate to the ticket.
