Labour MEP De Rossa announces his Decision to Step Down in February

[ang]

Statement from Labour Party.

Labour MEP Proinsias De Rossa has announced he is stepping down as Member of the European Parliament in February.

He said: "Since 1982, I have been privileged to represent the people of Finglas and Ballymun in the Dáil, and more widely the people of Dublin in Europe. I wish to thank the electorate for that opportunity and for their support in the 11 elections I have successfully contested since ’82, and indeed in the 4 elections I had previously unsuccessfully contested.

“My work as a public representative for 30 years, and before that my 25 years as a grassroots political activist, has always been motivated by a desire to change society for the better. I have dedicated all my energies to the pursuit of peace and the elimination of poverty and inequality through peaceful change, and the deepening of democracy.

“These are matters on which I will continue to be active. I hope to participate in efforts to develop and promote alternative policy responses to Europe-wide austerity economics, the deepening of EU democracy and the social market economy, and the recognition of a Palestinian State living in peace alongside Israel.

“I want to thank all the people with whom I have worked politically, in particular the members of the Labour Party, Democratic Left and The Workers' Party, as well as countless NGOs and civil society organisations, whose driving motivation was and is the achievement of social justice. Their selfless commitment to a better society and the basic common sense of the Irish people are the main reasons I am optimistic for the future of Ireland and our place at the heart of the European Union."

http://www.labour.ie/press/listing/1...215999536.html

[DCon]

He got Cardiff in. Job done. Retire.

[ang]

Twitter rumour that Emer Costello is the most likely choice to fill the seat.

[antiestablishmentarian]

He'll have his memoirs to write. Should be Stalinesque in its blatant disregard for truth and history. For those who might not know about De Rossa's history in the WP this letter is recommended reading.

[Baron von Biffo]

He got Cardiff in. Job done. Retire.

How prescient of him to enter politics all those years ago with that goal in mind.

[Baron von Biffo]

Twitter rumour that Emer Costello is the most likely choice to fill the seat.

She is first on the list but may not leave her junior ministry. His full replacement list is :-

1. COSTELLO, EMER
2. O'SULLIVAN, AIDAN
3. FREEHILL, MARY
4. O'TOOLE, DESMOND
5. MULLIGAN, LORAINE
6. HIGGINS, ROSS

http://www.europarl.ie/view/en/irish...91CEAA09C226BA

[antiestablishmentarian]

She is first on the list but may not leave her junior ministry. His full replacement list is :-

1. COSTELLO, EMER
2. O'SULLIVAN, AIDAN
3. FREEHILL, MARY
4. O'TOOLE, DESMOND
5. MULLIGAN, LORAINE
6. HIGGINS, ROSS

http://www.europarl.ie/view/en/irish...91CEAA09C226BA

I thought she was just a councillor, not a Junior Minister?

[Baron von Biffo]

I thought she was just a councillor, not a Junior Minister?

You're right. Sorry about that, my head was off on holiday somewhere.

[Slim Buddha]

He has dined for Ireland long enough and there comes a time when even the sturdiest waistbands get tested just once too often.

His patriotism can never be doubted as virtually nobody can be unaffected by the story of the Irish "wunderwirtschaft" going from stellar perfection to a ***** snowstorm of dog turds. Explaining Fianna Fail to dumbfounded Slovakians, Bulgarians and Slovanians. is hard work and best done in a 2 star Michelin restaurants .Frank Ross, Patriot.

[Holly]

His legacy will be that he championed the Fianna Fáil senior civil servant Kevin Cardiff for the highly lucrative post to the European Court of Auditors after failing to spot how the Irish banks were spectacularly gambling during the real estate bubble.

[Shaadi]

He'll have his memoirs to write. Should be Stalinesque in its blatant disregard for truth and history. For those who might not know about De Rossa's history in the WP this letter is recommended reading.

Haven't the Comrades done well for themselves, it's almost unbelievable how the likes of De Rossa, Gilmore and Rabbit have seamlessly warped into what they once railed against. Animal Farm in action.

[ang]

Emer was co-opted to DCC to replace her husband Joe Costello.(I had thought Labour frowned upon "Family" co-opts) Now seems quite likely she will be co-opted to the EU.

[Sam Lord]

Should be Stalinesque in its blatant disregard for truth and history.

I beg your pardon ...

[Richardbouvet]

I was never a fan of the careerist/revisionists of DL, but in fairness to De Rossa, he is probably the only one of them to retain even a shred of socialist commitment.

I know he was a disgrace on Lisbon and on the Kevin Cardiff issue, but he has at least been a fighter on issues like the Middle East and workers' rights.

[fluffybiscuits]

One more reason why the man is a hero

http://www.oireachtas-debates.gov.ie...205210050.html

He read into the record the number for abortion clinics in the UK using his dail priveleges he helped to bring about a near end to the lack of rights for information on abotion. Anything that pisses Youth Defence off is good in my books