Geoghegan Quinn faces grilling on suitability by MEPS
Her appointment to R&D portfolio must be ratified
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Saturday November 28 2009
IRELAND's next European Commissioner Maire Geoghegan Quinn is set to be "grilled" by the European Parliament about her qualifications for the post.
She has been nominated by the Government and allocated the Research and Innovation portfolio by EC president Jose Manuel Barroso, which has a budget of €50bn over the next seven years.
But her appointment will have to be ratified by the MEPs in the European Parliament in January -- who previously rejected Italy's proposed new commissioner Rocco Buttiglione in 2004 for his views on gay people and women.
Fine Gael Dublin MEP Gay Mitchell said that Ms Geoghegan Quinn would have to be well briefed in advance.
"I think she will be very closely grilled when she comes before the parliament for ratification. She will be asked a lot of detailed questions about her experience in research and innovation," he said.
If ratified, Ms Geoghegan Quinn would become Ireland's first female commissioner -- following on from having become the first female cabinet minister in 1979 since the appointment of Countess Markiewicz as minister for labour in 1919.
Portfolios
It had been thought she might be in line for the position of Commissioner for Budget and Financial Programming, given that she previously served on the European Court of Auditors for nine years. But that job went instead to Poland's Janusz Lewandowski.
Ms Geoghegan Quinn trained as a teacher and served in three different senior cabinet portfolios -- Minister for the Gaeltacht, Transport, Energy and Communications Minister, and Justice Minister -- before retiring from active politics almost 12 years ago.
But Mr Mitchell said he thought she would still have a good chance of being ratified by the European Parliament, which only has the power to block the appointment of the entire commission rather than an individual member.
"She should have a fair wind. After being a minister in the Dail for as long as she was, I think she'll certainly be able to master the brief," he said.
There is hope in political circles that Ms Geoghegan Quinn's appointment will be followed by the re-appointment of fellow Irishwoman Catherine Day to the powerful position of secretary general to the European Commission.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen yesterday stressed that he had told Mr Barroso that Ireland would be "very keen" to get the research and innovation portfolio.
"I am delighted to announce that we have secured the hugely important research and innovation portfolio, which resonates very strongly with our own 'Smart Economy' agenda," he said.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny wished Ms Geoghegan Quinn well but complained that Mr Cowen had not announced her candidacy in time.
"I would have thought that if the Taoiseach made the appointment earlier, you would have been in a position to receive a stronger portfolio from a commission point of view," he said.
Mr Kenny had proposed that the Government give the plum post to a member of his own party -- former Fine Gael leader and current EU Ambassador to Washington, John Bruton
The announcement was welcomed by Science Foundation Ireland, which is responsible for funding research and innovation here.
"As European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Maire Geoghegan Quinn will have a critical role to play in stimulating and driving economic growth across the EU," its director general, Professor Frank Gannon, said.
- Michael Brennan and Aidan O'Connor
Irish Independent
