Taoiseach defends appointment of jobs minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has defended his decision to appoint Mary Mitchell O’Connor as Minister for Jobs.

He was speaking after Ms Mitchell O’Connor was savaged by her Fine Gael colleagues at a meeting of the parliamentary party and amid a barrage of negative media commentary about her performance.

At a briefing for political correspondents, Mr Kenny was asked on what basis she was selected to take on the economically sensitive portfolio of Jobs and Enterprise. He said he appointed her on the basis of her educational background and dealing with people, in addition to her activities in the Fine Gael party.“

As Taoiseach, it falls to me to pick the members of Cabinet,” he told the Irish Examiner. “I chose Mary Mitchell O’Connor because of her experience, because of the fact she was involved in the activities of the parliamentary party before that, and that is what is needed here. That is what she is working at, and working well.

Asked if he accepted that it was his slapdown of her proposal to give tax breaks to returning emigrants that gave rise to criticism of her, Mr Kenny said he did not.

“No, I don’t accept that assertion at all,” he said. “Mary Mitchell O’Connor is working with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, two strong world-class players in terms of what they do, and obviously the Action Plan for Jobs is there nationally and broken down to eight regions.

“Her focus is to get 135,000 of the 200,000 new jobs into those regions and she is working very hard at that. Obviously as someone who comes from the education sector, she is well used to dealing with people and understanding their requirements and needs.”

Mr Kenny was asked repeatedly about his leadership intentions and when he intends to stand down.

He made it clear he wants to see out the implementation of the 600 commitments contained in the Programme for Government, referencing the Supply and Confidence deal with Fianna Fáil which lasts until 2018.

Mr Kenny was asked whether he would like to be leader if the Pope does come to Ireland in 2018.

He said: “What I’m concerned about is the fact that when the archbishop told me that the bishops have invited Pope Francis to come for the world meeting of families that it would be the responsibility of the Government to respond appropriately as head of the Vatican and head of the Catholic Church. And we will do that.”

Asked would he like to see the Pope visit the North, Mr Kenny said he would.

Separately, a new RTÉ documentary entitled Enda to be broadcast next week will reveal details of Mr Kenny’s days as a young backbencher.

Former Fine Gael senator and distinguished academic Maurice Manning recounts how he and Mr Kenny would “drink too much” as they had the on their hands.

“Leinster House was a very different place than it is today,” says Dr Manning. “It was much more casual and unstructured. You had a lot of spare time. Enda and myself would go up the town, drink too much and go to nightclubs.”

Mr Kenny’s spokesman said he had no comment to make as to Dr Manning’s claims in the programme, which will be broadcast next Monday and Tuesday.

The programme asserts that Mr Kenny never gave any indication of having ambitions of becoming taoiseach until he met and married Fionnuala O’Kelly, a Fianna Fáil press officer.

“It was she who steadied Enda up and convinced him that he could be leader,” says Dr Manning.