FINE GAEL POLITICIAN Bernard Durkan has missed out on a seat in the Dáil in Kildare North after he was eliminated in the final count that saw the last three seats filled.
His running mate, Joe Neville, took the fourth seat in the constituency in count 12 despite not meeting the quota.
In a post to X this afternoon, Durkan wrote: “Alas, today wasn’t my day but it has been my privilege to represent the people of Kildare in Dáil Éireann for over 43 years.”
He thanked his supporters and offered his congratulations to those who had been elected in the ward.
Durkan’s journey in politics began in Dáil Eireann in 1981, where he was elected for the Kildare constituency. After briefly losing his seat in 1982, he reclaimed it that same year, and has been reelected to each subsequent Dáil.
He served as Minister of State for Social Welfare from 1994 to 1997, was a member of the Public Accounts Committee, and had once been the Fine Gael chef whip.
The 79-year-old has held numerous other positions across his long tenure in both the Dáil and the government – but is perhaps best known for his use of the Parliamentary Question (PQ).
In the last Dáil year, Durkan asked a total of 1,433 PQs – twice as many questions as the next person. Most of his questions were for the Departments of Social Protection, Justice, and Health. As a matter of interest, the person second on the list of the most PQs asked is Catherine Murphy of the Social Democrats – also representing Kildare North.
Durkan was not only the longest serving TD in the Dáil, but the oldest. In 1967, he took part in a farmers’ protest and was subsequently imprisoned for almost two months after he refused to pay his fine of £7.50.
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