Commissioner bowed under Cabinet pressure

EU Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn gave up the battle to retain her lucrative pension after numerous Cabinet ministers made clear she should forego it.

The Department of Finance issued a short statement last night saying Ms Geoghegan-Quinn would gift the pension to the state until her term as commissioner finished.

“Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn has contacted the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD, to ask that the necessary arrangements be put in place to allow her to gift to the state her current ministerial and Oireachtas pension for the duration of her service as an EU commissioner,” it said.

The combined ministerial and TD pension was worth €108,000 a year to Ms Geoghegan-Quinn, on top of her salary of €243,000 as commissioner.

While the EU was paying her salary, the state was paying the pension – causing an immense headache for Taoiseach Brian Cowen and the Government.

Numerous ministers stated Ms Geoghegan-Quinn should forego the pension until she stepped down as commissioner, although the Taoiseach himself proved reluctant to say so.

Over the weekend Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin and Social Affairs Minister Éamon O Cuiv all indicated the commissioner should stop accepting the pension.

They were followed yesterday by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin and Communications Minister Eamon Ryan, among others.

Mr Lenihan said anybody who had “substantial means” should consider making a contribution to ease the financial burden on the state.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said his view was that pensions should be paid only upon retirement, and called on Ms Geoghegan-Quinn to “reflect” on the issue.

Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe said he was “disappointed” that the first question Ms Geoghegan-Quinn had faced from journalists at an event in Dublin last Friday was about her pension rather than her portfolio.

But while he saw no moral obligation on the commissioner to forego the pension, he said it was a “matter of judgement” for her.

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan said he would give up the pensions if he were in Ms Geoghegan-Quinn’s position. His Green Party colleague, Senator Dan Boyle, said: “I think at €240,000 she has more than enough already.”

After she had indicated she would forego the pensions last night, Finance Minister Lenihan praised Ms Geoghegan-Quinn’s handling of her new portfolio, saying she had made a strong and positive impact in advancing innovation throughout the EU.