Labour women concern over lack of Cabinet roles
The party branch has also criticised former leader and Education Minister, Ruairi Quinn, for claiming women are more suitable to the brief of Minister for Children.
As the fallout over the cabinet appointments continued, the Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny performed his first significant U-turn in government on just his second day in office.
Fine Gael had promised during the election campaign to cut the number of junior ministers to 12.
However, the Government announced the number would be staying at 15 when unveiling the line-up of junior ministers.
It led to immediate criticism from Fianna Fáil, who said the Government had wasted no time in abandoning one of its key pledges on political reform.
“After telling the people that honesty is the ‘only policy’, it seems that Enda Kenny has reverted back to type with more politics as usual,” Fianna Fáil whip Seán Ó Fearghaíl said.
“The promised departure from broken pledges and ‘old politics’ appears to have been a false dawn.”
The Labour Party secured six out of the 15 junior minister positions
A spokesperson for Mr Gilmore rejected claims he had “shafted” Minister Burton by overlooking the Labour finance spokesperson of nine years for a key economic ministry.
The deputy leader of the party was given the brief of Minister for Social Protection. She is one of two women serving in cabinet, including Fine Gael’s Frances Fitzgerald who is Minister for Children.
Katherine Dunne, chair of Labour Women said: “The stereotypically female roles have gone to the women. Not to do down that roles, they are caring and children, we should have moved on from that now.”
However, Mr Quinn said: “This is one of those questions that you can’t win either way. Women know more about children than men, because they spend more time with them.”
The remarks angered Labour Women: “I’d be disappointed that someone would think that only women could have a role that’s to do with children,” said Ms Dunne.
“Men do have children and should be interested in children and everyone should be interested in the welfare of children of the country,” she said.
The group also said it was “disappointed” that the party has just one woman in cabinet and “surprised” with the role given to Burton.
“I intend to write to the leader to discuss now where we go from here. We have got certain measures into the programme for government and there is a chance to put forward positive measures to put women into politics,” said Ms Dunne.
“I’ll certainly be letting him know that we’re disappointed with the number of women in cabinet,” she said.
The newly-appointed junior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Jan O’Sullivan said Ms Burton “would have made an excellent Minister in the Department of Finance” and had done a “terrific job” and a “huge amount of work” in as finance spokesperson.
But she said it was a “difficult choice” for the leader.
The Government has, meanwhile, decided to curtail the number of St Patrick’s Day trips, with a total of just nine trips to eight countries being undertaken by the Taoiseach and members of his Cabinet.
