Senator Cecilia Keaveney says she has not yet decided whether or not she will defend her Seanad seat when elections are called in early summer, but the probability is she will not.

Senator Keaveney withdrew from Fianna Fail’s General Election selection convention last night, saying she wants to concentrate on a European Council of Ministers project with which she is involved.

She says she remains  a member of Fianna Fail, and may seek to return to the Dail in the future, However, for now she says, a return to the Seanad is unlikely