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The Government has nominated Mairead McGuinness and Andrew McDowell as candidates to be the next European Commissioner for Ireland.
The decision was made at a disembodied Cabinet meeting this afternoon that ended a week and a half of speculation about who will replace Phil Hogan.
The Taoiseach has written to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposing the Vice-President of the European Parliament and veteran MEP Mairead McGuinness and Enda Kenny’s former chief economic adviser, Andrew McDowell, former Vice President of the European Investment Bank.
You will need to consider the credentials of the candidates when deciding who to appoint and what portfolio they may hold and will consult with the European Parliament.
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Andrew McDowell Image Credit: Frank McGrath 7/23/18
In a statement, a spokesman for the Taoiseach department said: “The Government believes that both are candidates of the highest caliber, possessing the necessary competence, independence and European commitment to play the role of commissioner with distinction.”
The spokesperson added that both candidates have the experience in the “most demanding roles”, however, it is considered unlikely that Ireland will hold on to the powerful business portfolio that Hogan had prior to his resignation over the “golf door” controversy. .
The two candidates will be interviewed early next week.
Mrs. Von der Leyen tweeted this afternoon: “The Taoiseach @MichealMartin has informed me of the nomination of [Mairead McGuinness] and [Andrew McDowell] like the Irish candidates for the post of commissioner. I will interview them early next week about their qualifications for the job. “
When asked about Simon Coveney’s decision not to challenge the Commissioner position, his party leader said: “I am very glad that he did not allow his name to move forward.”
“One thing I can say about it is that Simon Coveney is someone of enormous ability and he would certainly have been a first-class commissioner if he had decided to move on,” Varadkar said.
“For Ireland and for the government, I am very happy that he is staying, frankly. He is someone we need, for the next stage of Brexit, due to the events in Northern Ireland, and someone who I think the Government needs to bring experience, maturity and stability.
“So I’m really glad he didn’t let his name carry on, but it’s just a personal opinion.”
On the suggestion that the other two candidates lacked political experience, which could hurt their chances of landing a high-level portfolio, Varadkar said: “I don’t think they lack experience, quite the contrary.”
In profile …
Mairead McGuinness
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Mairead McGuinness Vice President of the European Parliament at her home in Co Meath. Image by David Conachy. 8/29/2020
A Fine Gael MP for the Midlands-North-West constituency and First Vice-President of the European Parliament, Ms McGuinness is now in her fourth term in Brussels and Strasbourg. She was first elected in 2004 for the now abolished Eastern Ireland constituency.
The former RTÉ presenter is one of the most respected and respected Irish representatives in Brussels and sits on various committees, including agriculture and rural development; ambient; and constitutional matters, which is responsible for the Brexit process. The Louth native has been a prominent Irish voice in the UK and international media throughout the Brexit saga.
Ms McGuinness went viral in late January when she told a flag-waving Nigel Farage and her fellow Brexit Party MEPs to “sit down, take a seat, put your flags away, go away.”
As a former journalist, her CV includes stints as a researcher on The Late Late Show and a presenter on RTÉ’s Ear to the Ground. She also worked with the Irish Farmers’ Journal and as editor of the Irish Independent’s agricultural supplement.
She faced off against veteran MEP Fine Gael and party colleague Avril Doyle when she first ran for the European Parliament 16 years ago. While both were elected, McGuinness topped the poll, winning one in four votes cast in the 2004 European elections.
He was less successful in running for Dáil in the Louth constituency in 2007 and also had a dire turn for the presidency in 2011 when he lost the Fine Gael nomination to Gay Mitchell. She failed in her bid to become president of the European Parliament in 2016, but was elected first vice president a month later.
Andrew McDowell
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Andrew McDowell, Vice President of the European Investment Bank, pictured at the meeting in Richmond Barracks where the council’s land redevelopment proposals on Emmet Road in Inchicore. Image Credit: Frank McGrath 7/23/18
The outgoing vice president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), whose term expired yesterday, was chief economic adviser to the former Taoiseach Enda Kenny from 2011 to 2016.
McDowell was at the center of the Labor Party-Fine Gael government’s response to the banking and financial crisis.
The coalition imposed several austerity budgets under the EU-IMF Troika program. This partly paved the way for a return to economic growth that made Ireland one of the fastest growing economies in the EU.
Described as “the mastermind of the Taoiseach” and a “roving political machine” when he worked in government buildings, McDowell was also a key figure in negotiations to form the Fine Gael-led minority government with independents in the spring and summer of 2016.
Then the new administration nominated him for the position of vice president of the European Investment Bank in July 2016, a prestigious position that came with a gross salary of more than 277,000 euros per year. The EIB is the lending arm of the EU that lends billions to member states every year.
McDowell’s four-year tenure at the Luxembourg-based bank saw him take responsibility for the economy, appraisal, treasury, and financing of energy and agriculture.
During his time at the EIB, he also oversaw the establishment of its first offices in Dublin.
He has an MBA from the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business at UCD and a postgraduate diploma in international relations from Johns Hopkins University.
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