Taoiseach dismisses ‘stroke’ claims

The Taoiseach has dismissed claims of "stroke politics" over the nomination of Fine Gael’s candidate for the Seanad by-election, insisting it is his "right as leader of the day" who to choose to fill the seat.

Enda Kenny was speaking during a visit to the US while his backbench TDs rounded on him back home over how the selection process was handled.

John McNulty — a 37-year-old shop manager from Donegal — was selected in what was described as a “last-minute switch” to fill the Seanad seat left vacant by the election of Deirdre Clune to the European Parliament.

It had been “widely expected” among the parliamentary party that one of two female candidates — Samantha Long or Stephanie Regan — would be chosen.

Mr McNulty’s nomination came just days after the failed local election candidate was appointed to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Arts (Imma) in what was seen as an attempt to boost his credentials to take a place on the Seanad’s cultural panel.

Speaking in Rhode Island as part of his two-day visit to the US, Mr Kenny defended his actions. “It is the right of the leader of the day to decide who should be nominated,” he said.

“I have to verify all of the nominations of all the candidates for general elections and for the Seanad, so from that point of view, the process is one that Fine Gael have always followed down through the years.”

He said Mr McNulty is a “young man of considerable energy and potential” and “will prove to be an outstanding senator”

Mr McNulty is “involved in a lot of different activities in an area where, obviously, rural Ireland and the sort of locality he represents need every assistance it can get”, Mr Kenny said.

He also insisted that comments about his party’s attitude to gender balance “don’t stand up” because its two Dáil by-election candidates are women. “Fine Gael is the party that has made most of the running here in terms of having more women appointed,” he said.

Mr Kenny also defended Mr McNulty’s appointment to the board of Imma, which he said was made by Arts Minister Heather Humphreys “in her own right”.