Taoiseach would endorse openly gay FF election candidates
The move was welcomed by gay rights campaigners and could help lift one of the final taboos in Irish political life.
Despite British PM Tony Blair’s cabinet at one point containing four gay ministers, independent Senator David Norris is the only openly gay member of the Oireachtas.
Mr Ahern’s comments were seen as a further attempt to woo the gay vote.
Once quoted as saying: “I have never knowingly met a homosexual”, Mr Ahern became the first Taoiseach to attend a gay community event earlier this month and has pledged legislation to bring in civil partnerships for same sex couples.
The Taoiseach’s remarks could have an immediate influence as FF decides whether to field a fourth candidate in Wexford.
One contender is councillor Malcolm Byrne, who emerged unscathed after a national newspaper attacked him for advertising on a gay dating website earlier this year. “Fianna Fáil has a strong record on gay rights and I welcome the Taoiseach’s comments, but candidates should be chosen on ability and ability only,” he said.
Senator Norris said he hoped the Taoiseach’s remarks would encourage more gay people to run for public office.
“No one should be chosen as a candidate because they are gay, but at the same time that fact should not be allowed to hold them back either.
"If there has been a glass ceiling for women in the past, then there has been a bullet-proof glass ceiling for gay men. The Taoiseach’s remarks are very timely and they will help young people considering a career in public life coming forward,” the Senator said.
Mr Ahern said his party had been at the cutting edge of social change in Ireland over the past 15 years.
“On the equality agenda it is Fianna Fáil in government that has delivered the radical changes that have transformed this society.
“Fianna Fáil would be very happy to support an openly gay candidate for elected office,” he told GCN (Gay Community News) magazine.
Labour justice spokesman Brendan Howlin poured scorn on the Taoiseach’s claim to set the pace on progressive reform.
“It has always been Labour that has been at the forefront of pushing through social change. We were the ones who pushed for decriminalisation of homosexuality in the negotiations for government in 1992. We also led the campaign for change on divorce, so I find the Taoiseach’s claims for Fianna Fáil a bit strange,” he said.
