Taoiseach denies insisting on McNulty

Taoiseach Enda Kenny insisted he did not order the appointment of his Seanad nominee John McNulty to a high-profile arts post.

As controversy surrounding the move continued to escalate, with opposition parties and some of his own TDs condemning the decision, Mr Kenny moved to address the political storm.

He also insisted he did not know if Arts Minister Heather Humphreys was aware Mr McNulty was in line for the Fine Gael Seanad nomination when she elevated him to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Mr McNulty has quit the IMMA post, as the role bars him from seeking election, and amid opposition accusations that he was given the post to bolster his credentials with the Seanad’s cultural and educational panel.

Mr Kenny said: “I have never given an instruction for a minister to make an appointment.

“We have a system, whereby if ministers are making appointments to the chairs of boards, the minister makes the nomination to Cabinet.

“Obviously, there are thousands of positions that are required to be filled occasionally and we have encouraged people to apply in a particular way for that.

“But ministers are free to make nominations to particular boards.”

The Taoiseach said he had found Mr McNulty to be a man of “energy and quality” when he spoke to him, as Mr Kenny tried to play down claims of sexism in the nomination process, as a number of women had been on the shortlist and passed over.

Mr Kenny said there had been 20 expressions of interest in the Seanad seat left vacant by Deirdre Clune’s election to the European parliament. The Taoiseach dismissed accusations that women were being overlooked by the party leadership.

Mr Kenny said he had appointed a number of women to the Seanad, as well as Cabinet, and that, at the next election, 30% of candidates would be female and the Fine Gael director of the party’s campaign would be Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald. Mr Kenny pointed out that both Fine Gael candidates in upcoming by-elections in Roscommon and Dublin were women.

Referring to the number of people who expressed an interest in the Seanad seat, Mr Kenny said: “They all can’t be winners. They all can’t be appointed.”

The Taoiseach insisted he only chose candidates on merit. “I looked at all of the candidates... for the Seanad by-election position and they all had particular qualities, but as I said, Mr McNulty is a young man with a great deal of experience... energy and a great deal of commitment he can bring to Seanad Eireann,” he said at the National Ploughing Championships.