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Former FG Dail deputy and one-time minister for justice Alan Shatter is standing in the general election – but not for his former party. Instead, the Dublin solicitor will contest the election as an Independent in the Dublin Rathdown constituency.
Mr Shatter became a TD after being elected in 1981 for FG and was returned at every subsequent election up to 2002 when he lost his seat – which he regained at the next general election in 2007.
This was the election Fianna Fail won for a third successive period in government and Mr Shatter served as front bench spokesman across an array of portfolios including justice and health before the following election when he was appointed by new Taoiseach Enda Kenny as Minister of Justice which he held until 2014.
Mr Shatter later extended his interest into writing and penned the bestseller ‘Life Is A Funny Business’. He is also an acknowledged expert on Israel and the Middle East and is chair of the Inheritance Tax Reform Campaign.
He told RTE: “I will be asking the electorate in Dublin Rathdown to support me with their no 1 votes to illustrate the level of support for the abolition of inheritance tax.”
