TD Bríd Smith will not seek third term in Dáil

Bríd Smith of the People Before Profit party announced today she will not run again in the next election, tapping Hazel de Nortúin to stand in her place in the 2025 General Election.

Smith was first elected to the Dáil in 2016 on a platform of public housing reform, increased access to reproductive healthcare including abortion, legalization of medical cannabis, and increasing environmental protections.

In the Dáil she sponsored bills on environmental concerns like public ownership of water rights, animal protection, and regulation of the mining and extraction industry.

Her recent contributions include sponsoring a rent reduction bill in April and a bill to ban private jets from Irish airspace in May.

She worked for the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union before being elected to the Dublin City Council in 2009 and again in 2014. Smith also served as Director of Elections for the People Before Profit party in 2011, and ran as a candidate for Dublin in the 2014 European Parliament elections.

"Bríd has been a leading light on women's rights issues during her time in the Dáil, particularly around the issue of #AbortionAccess – campaigning tirelessly for improved services and legislation," the National Women's Council remarked, in response to today's news. "Thank you for your allyship and activism..."

Activist Fiona Ferguson of People before Profit described Bríd as "a giant of the Irish left."

"Her tireless campaigning for workers, women, planet, socialism is unrivalled," she wrote on Twitter today. "She'll be a loss to the Dáil but few deserve retirement more! Thankfully she's not retiring from activism & her replacement is just as fierce..."