Gilmore has the support of the Labour parliamentary party, insists Burton

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton said Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has her support and that of the parliamentary party.

Mr Gilmore has come under pressure following a dramatic slump in support for Labour and a poor result in the Meath East by-election.

He will next week face his parliamentary party in a meeting likely to focus on how the party can be more proactive.

But Ms Burton, the party’s deputy leader, said yesterday Mr Gilmore was “very committed to his job as leader”.

Speaking in Killarney, she said Labour has had “some recent difficulties” and was “disappointed” with the poor result in the recent by-election where Eoin Holmes came fifth.

Ms Burton — who has previously refused to rule out succeeding Mr Gilmore — said she is “happy and privileged to be doing the job that I’m doing”.

“Eamon Gilmore is very committed to his job as leader of the Labour Party and he has my support and I think he has the support of the parliamentary party in doing his very, very important job.”

Asked if a reshuffle was likely to allow Mr Gilmore to leave foreign affairs she replied: “The question of who is allocated posts... is a matter in this Government both for the Taoiseach in terms of Fine Gael, and the leader of the Labour Party in terms of the Labour Party.”

She said her own job in social protection was “at the beating heart of this country”.

“Getting people back to work is the number one job for the Labour Party, it’s the number one job for the Government, and being honest, a lot of the other stuff is a distraction.

“So as far as the Labour Party is concerned and as far as I’m concerned now, my job is to help this country get back to work, businesses back on their feet, and that’s what I am focusing on.”