The former Fine Gael Seanad nominee John McNulty has said he did not know he had been chosen for the Seanad when he was appointed on the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA).

Mr McNulty resigned from that post last week.

He also withdrew from the upcoming Seanad by-election yesterday, and asked members of the Oireachtas not to vote for him.

"I am taking this decision because I believe that to contest the election would be an ongoing distraction from the critical work of Government which is to secure Ireland’s recovery through job creation and increased investment," he said in a statement yesterday.

It came after the government unveiled a new system for appointments to state boards.

It signed off on a new system where all positions on state boards will have to be filled by public advertisement.

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny is expected to face stiff criticism yet from his own backbenchers over the fiasco.

Mr McNulty says he does not want to discuss whether he has been contacted by Mr Kenny in relation to the controversy.

But he told the Pat Kenny Show here on Newstalk that he did nothing wrong.