A move overseas doesn’t come as a total surprise for Donohoe, 51, one of the Irish government’s most highly regarded and longest-serving ministers.
But the timing comes at a moment of weakness for Donohoe’s party Fine Gael, which has just suffered a lopsided loss in the presidential election to an opposition socialist figure, Catherine Connolly. That outcome also undermined the credibility of Prime Minister Micheál Martin, whose own Fianna Fáil party candidate stumbled on the campaign trail and quit the race midway.
Donohoe had previously been rumored to be interested in taking a senior post at the International Monetary Fund, but decided last year to seek reelection to his parliamentary seat in central Dublin, a post he’s held since 2011.
Donohoe has been widely credited with developing Ireland as a low-tax destination for foreign multinationals, including nearly 1,000 U.S. firms, among them most of the world’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers and tech giants. He was a pivotal figure in 2021 global negotiations on striking a new minimum 15 percent rate of tax on corporate profits, higher than Ireland’s own previous rate of 12.5 percent, but still among the lowest in Europe.
Donohoe’s sudden departure is likely to trigger a government reshuffle, details of which may be announced later Tuesday. He is expected to resign as a lawmaker later this week.
His departure will trigger a by-election in the Dublin Central constituency, a largely working-class district where the fiscally conservative Fine Gael will struggle to defend its seat. The district is a power base for Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the main opposition Sinn Féin party.