FINE GAEL TD Brian Walsh has resigned from the Dáil today.

The Galway West deputy had already decided not to contest the general election following medical advice.

His resignation from the Dáil Éireann was confirmed in the chamber by Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett this afternoon and comes just weeks before the Dáil is due to be dissolved and the election called.

Walsh, 43, withdrew his election candidacy last November after revealing that he had been experiencing health problems “for some time, which have resulted in hospitalisation on two occasions recently”.

In a statement on 10 November last, Walsh said:

I have done everything possible to resist making this decision and had hoped to overcome my condition in order to be able to continue.

“But in recent days, it has become clear that I have no choice but to accede to medical advice and withdraw my candidacy in the forthcoming general election.

“While it is with great sadness that I must step back from this role, I take solace from the fact that this will enable me to spend more time with my family.”

Walsh is a former Galway city councillor and mayor who was first elected to the Dáil in 2011. He lost the Fine Gael whip in 2013 after voting against the government on the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill.

However, he was readmitted to the parliamentary party less than a year later following a recommendation from the Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Walsh was spotted in Leinster House earlier today and there was no indication that his immediate resignation as a TD was on the cards.

There was no immediate comment from a Fine Gael spokesperson and Walsh could not be reached for comment.

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