Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill will not contest the upcoming general election.

The Thurles dairy farmer has held a Dáil seat in the county for Fianna Fáil since 2016.

Following careful consideration, he has decided not to contest the upcoming general election.

He said he “sincerely regrets” the short notice but that “personal circumstances” have dictated the decision not to run.

Last May, Cahill told the Irish Farmers Journal that he would be running in the next general election.

“I’ll most definitely be running, winning a seat or not is another thing,” he said at the time.

He is currently the chair of the Oireachtas agriculture committee.

ICMSA

Cahill is a former president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA). He held the role of president of the ICMSA from 2005 to 2011. He went on to become involved in the election campaign of his successor John Comer.

In the 2020 general election, he took the fifth and final seat in the constituency after the ninth count.

He took the third seat in the five-seater in the 2016 general election.

Election date

On Monday night, the three coalition leaders confirmed that there will be a general election later this year.

While they confirmed that there will be an election before Christmas, they did not indicate what date the country will go to the polls. However 22 or 29 November are the most likely dates the election will be held.