JUNIOR MINISTER KEVIN ‘Boxer’ Moran has said he has been “let down” by the people in Longford-Westmeath as he admitted it will take “a miracle” to save his seat.

There haven’t been any completed counts in Longford-Westmeath yet and Moran has said that he’s “not conceding” but acknowledged that it’s not looking good for his chances.

Moran has been a Cabinet minister since 2017 and was part of the Independent Alliance (IA) but left IA ahead of this election.

Moran remained as a Cabinet minister last year after he stayed on in the role that he previously shared with former Independent Alliance colleague Seán Canney TD.

Speaking on Shannonside FM this evening, Moran said there has been “a lot of promises” from Sinn Féin that he doesn’t think the party will be able to deliver.

“In six or 12 months times they will appreciate the work I did do, I delivered on the ground. What we’re seeing now is a lot of promises, I’ve been in government, I’ve seen how tight it is to get money, I know how tight is to work around the table to deliver,” Moran said.

People sit outside and making promises. They can criticise in terms of housing and not doing enough, trust me, they won’t build any more, they won’t build 100,000.

He added: “The people have spoken today and they’ve let me down and I haven’t let them down over the last four years. I’ve worked extremely hard. But time and reflection, I’ll take some time off, take the boat out of the shed and do some fishing and enjoy life.”

Moran said that there has been some things said on social media in the past few weeks that have been difficult for him, particularly about his son.

“The only was to sort social media is to urge every TD in the Dáil to bring legislation to stop the hate speech. We’re driving people out of politics, you cannot sit at home, you’re human and look what’s been put on front of me, it’s terrible, it’s wrong,” he said.

Moran also spoke about his time in frontline politics, saying he’s enjoyed “every bit of it”.

“The people have made their decision, they’ve cast their votes. You can reflect on where you went wrong and what didn’t go right. In my short career as a national politician in the 25 years service I have done as a politician, I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. The last four years as government to become a TD but also a minister and what I’ve achieved in such a short time is something I’ll always respect and honour.”