TV3 newcaster Alan Cantwell has quit the station to become a special adviser to new Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor.

In a tweet this evening the popular TV3 hosts tweeted:

“Have resigned my position at TV3. Appointed to position at Dept. Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation.”

Mr Cantwell's new role is Director of Communications to the Department.

The Dubliner had only returned to the station last September and had led the station’s election coverage.

In 2011 he had quit the station after being their male anchor for 14 years.

Have resigned my position at TV3. Appointed to position at Dept. Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation. — Alan Cantwell (@alanrantwell) May 12, 2016

At the time of his first resignation from the station in 2011, Cantwell spoke of his desire to "draw a line in the sand" and move on to future projects.

But after three years away and even a stint on the dole, he returned to Ballymount last year. He recently revealed the reasons for his shock return, saying he found it too difficult to secure a work visa in the US.

"I had a number of agents working for me in the US. One of the biggest issues I had was securing a work visa because at the time, we were in a the depths of a depression, as was the United States.

"The case was that it was US citizens that would get the job first. That was the rule they had at the time so it became increasingly difficult to break in to the States."

Cantwell, whose wife Denise and has daughters Harriet (10) and Charlotte (13) were supportive of his decision, has been candid about his hiatus from the media, even describing signing on to the dole in his local Dun Laoghaire in 2013 - noting the last time he was there, he was a teenager signing up for a FAS course.

"In 30 years, little has changed from the outside, apart from a coat of paint and new signage," he told the Herald at the time.

Now it seems that he is moving into the world of creating jobs rather than looking for them.

Online Editors