Enda Kenny rejects gender quota claims

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has rejected claims that the decision to add Jobs Minister Richard Bruton as a general election candidate after he lost out at convention flies in the face of strict new gender quotas.

At Thursday night’s Dublin Bay North convention, the long-standing TD was surprisingly not selected, with councillors Naoise Ó Muirí and Stephanie Regan chosen instead.

Party officials immediately put down a motion to allow the national executive add Mr Bruton’s name to the list of candidates for the toughly contested five-seater constituency.