Cabinet minister Jack Chambers has announced on social media that he is gay.
The Fianna Fáil TD said he has often found it difficult to talk about his personal life but said it was important to be true to himself.
In a post on Instagram, Mr Chambers: “As I look forward to 2024, I am sharing with you something a little different, but it’s something I have wanted to do for a while.
“As a politician, it can sometimes be difficult to speak about my own personal life and that can lead to things drifting.
“However, it is important me to be true to myself first – and to you all in my public service role.
“I am starting 2024 by telling you all that I am proud to say that I am gay.”
Mr Chambers said he had the confidence and courage to share the information publicly after being given love and support from close family and friends.
The Minister of State at the Department of Transport said he was fortunate that Ireland is a country that has “made many strides in recent years”.
He said Ireland has become a much more inclusive and equal society to the extent that “sharing of this information is becoming increasingly unremarkable”.
Mr Chambers is Fianna Fáil’s director of local elections for 2024.
By Cillian Sherlock, PA
