Dara Murphy to resign his Cork North Central seat before Christmas

FINE Gael TD Dara Murphy is set to resign his Cork North-Central seat to allow him take up a new full-time job in Europe.

Mr Murphy, a former European Affairs Minister, has been employed with the European People’s Party (EPP) in Brussels since 2017 in addition to his duties as a TD.

The Irish Examiner says that Mr Murphy’s departure will take place before Christmas but will not impact on this week’s by-election in Cork North Central, caused by the departure of Billy Kelleher in May.

With a General Election expected in the first half of next year, by resigning before Christmas, the need to hold the by-election to fill his seat within six months would not arise.

It's understood Mr Murphy’s departure is due shortly.

Mr Murphy, who had the lowest attendance in the Dail last year, has declared a €26,000 profit in the consultancy firm he set up to handle payments from his role with the EPP.

In May 2018, Mr Murphy told constituents that he would not be standing in the next general election.