Outgoing Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly believes he would have been re-elected if Simon Harris hadn’t been running in the same constituency.

The outgoing Wicklow TD blames the constituency redraw, Simon Harris becoming Taoiseach and the “poison chalice” of the health ministry for why he won’t be returning to the Dáil.

On The Pat Kenny Show, Mr Donnelly said he wasn’t re-elected because “too many things went in the wrong direction”.

“The constituency redraw - had that not happened, I think I would have taken a seat,” he said.

“Simon becoming Taoiseach six months before the election – we share the same town – had that not happened, I think I probably would have taken a seat.”

"Important progress"

Mr Donnelly said often people look at the negatives of the health ministry and “don't talk about the really important progress” made in a term.

“Health is a difficult ministry, you know, what gets covered and what we discuss nearly all of the time in healthcare is the things that aren't working, for good reason, and we don't talk about the really important progress that gets made,” he said.

“So politically, you know, they call it the poison chalice, turns out, for a reason.

“There's only three sitting Fianna Fáil TDs that didn't get re-elected and it's interesting, two of the three were health ministers - me and Anne Rabbitte.

“So, when you put all of those things together, it just didn't work out.”

Mr Donnelly said he is “immensely honoured” to have been “put in the Dáil” by the people of Wicklow three out of the four times he ran.

“Look, I ran four time, I'm immensely honoured to have been put in the Dáil by the people of Wicklow three of those four times, and this time it just wasn't to be,” he said.

"There's still a long way to go"

Mr Donnelly also spoke about what he wants to see from the next Minister for Health.

“What I want to see more than anything is the incoming Minister for Health being able to stand up and say:

• ‘we've met the 10 to 12 week targets,
• the people of Limerick and the Midwest finally have the emergency service that they need,
• we've opened the new hospitals,
• we've built 1000s of new beds,
• we've transformed women's health care
• and e-health has now been rolled out’."

“To be honest, I want that more than anything,” Mr Donnelly said.

"That will mean that the work we've done over the last four-and-a half or five years and the momentum that is needed has continued.

“Because it's all well and good me saying things are getting better, and you know, a lot of progress has been made.”

Mr Donnelly said the outgoing Government needs to be very humble and “we need to recognise that there's still a long way to go”.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in the Courtyard at Government Buildings ahead of Cabinet, 18-09-2024. Image: Alan Rowlette/RollingNews