TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has said he expects Máire Geoghegan-Quinn to make a major contribution to the new EU Commission but he refused to be drawn about which portfolio she is likely to be given.
Mr Cowen, who announced Ms Geoghegan-Quinn’s nomination for appointment to the commission yesterday, said the requirement for gender balance was one of the reasons he had selected her ahead of other well-qualified candidates.
Mr Cowen told the Dáil that, while there were other prospective candidates equally able to serve Ireland well, he had to take into account a message sent to him and other leaders by European Commission president José Manuel Barroso. The letter read: “To allow me to propose a properly balanced team to the council and the European Parliament, I would therefore ask you all to see gender balance as a common goal and as a shared responsibility.
“I would therefore urge you to pay particular attention to the presence of women in the college as our discussions continue towards conclusion.” The Taoiseach said the question of which portfolio would be allocated was a matter for Mr Barroso. “He has made it clear that portfolios are not assigned to countries, but to individuals. The matter is required to go before the European Parliament for its approval, so we must await that process and not assume its outcome.
"I have every confidence, however, that the capacity of Máire Geoghegan-Quinn will be reflected
in a portfolio that will enable her to serve the college well and to serve her country well in the spirit in which commissioners are appointed," said Mr Cowen.
Announcing her nomination earlier, Mr Cowen said Ms Geoghegan-Quinn's combination of experience and qualities made her particularly suited to serving as EU commissioner. "I expect her to make a major contribution to the work of the new commission which will include the challenge of overseeing implementation of the positive changes that the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will
usher in," he added.
Speaking in Luxembourg, where the Court of Auditors, of which she is a member, is based, Ms Geoghegan- Quinn insisted yesterday her appointment was not only due to her gender. "I don't believe for an instant that the Taoiseach put forward my name simply because I was a woman," she
said.
She said she was contacted about the position by the Taoiseach 12 days earlier and had accepted immediately when she gleaned from him that there was no other candidate in the frame for the post.
"He didn't mention at all that he was talking to anyone else," she added.
She met Mr Barroso in Brussels last Thursday in anticipation of her nomination and they spoke for more than an hour about her work record and her areas of interest. When asked if she would like the budget or innovation portfolio, about which there has been some speculation, Ms Geoghegan-Quinn said: “There was nothing discussed in relation to specific portfolios.” She will be paid an annual salary of €238,918 in her new post.
Fine Gael spokeswoman on European Affairs Lucinda Creighton congratulated the new commissioner but said her relationship with Declan Ganley would have to be clarified. "The Taoiseach needs to come out immediately and clarify whether Máire Geoghegan-Quinn as a former
minister for communications sat on the board of one or more of Declan Ganley's companies, and if so, which companies, for how long and in what capacity."
Labour's spokesman on European Affairs Joe Costello last night welcomed the nomination of a woman for the first time by an Irish government but he queried the motivation behind it. "This is the second occasion that a decision on the key post of European Commission has been made on the basis of what is in the best interests of Fianna Fáil rather than what is in the best interests of
the country," he said.
Speculation about Ms Geoghegan- Quinn’s replacement on the Court of Auditors was focused last night on former Dublin Fianna Fáil MEP, Eoin Ryan.