McConalogue refuses to rule out tilt at EU commissioner role

Asked whether he would be interested in the top EU job, agriculture minister says there is 'nothing to rule in or out' yet

Charlie McConalogue will be under pressure to retain his Dáil seat in the next election. Picture: Leah Farrell

Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue has refused to rule himself out as Fianna Fáil nominee for the EU commissioner job.

There has been much speculation within the party about who will be the country’s next commissioner, with Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, Finance Minister Michael McGrath, and Mr McConalogue all being mentioned. 

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has ruled himself out of the running but has been adamant that the next commissioner would be from Fianna Fáil.

That is despite Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stating in a pre-Christmas interview that there was “no written agreement” with Fianna Fáil on the issue.

However, he declined to say if there was an informal arrangement and he would not be drawn on whether he would be pushing for Fine Gael’s Mairead McGuinness to get a second term.

Former Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness is the European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services, and the Capital Markets Union. Picture: NW Newspix

When asked whether he would be interested in the top EU job, Mr McConalogue sought to avoid answering the question and said there was currently “nothing to consider” and “nothing to rule in or out” yet.

When asked whether he would consider the role if approached, he said that was “irrelevant at this point in time”.

The Donegal TD will be under pressure to retain his seat in the next general election, with speculation that the public will be hitting the ballot boxes later this year. It is anticipated that due to backlash from the mica scandal, the Sinn Féin surge, and the possibility of his party colleague Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher seeking a return to the Dáil if he fails to get elected as an MEP, Mr McConalogue will be in a dog-fight to keep his seat.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Irish Examiner, he said he never takes anything for granted but pointed out that every prediction about him in previous elections he has contested has been wrong.

I wouldn’t say I’m nervous but I’m certainly in no way complacent and I see every election as a challenge but I feel that I have a strong record of delivery to put in front of the people next time around.

The mica crisis was “unprecedented” in terms of its impact in his home county and he described it as an “unbelievable ordeal” for everyone affected.

He said he is confident that the scheme now in place is a success but said it will remain under review into the future and will be adjusted every year.

'Totally inadequate'

He said families and homeowners have been transitioned from the old scheme, which he said was “totally inadequate”.

Mr McConalogue said 50 homes have been remediated in the county, another 50 are under way, while 850 homes have received approval from Donegal County Council to access the scheme.

He said remediation work is beginning on homes every week but admitted that it had been a difficult journey for everyone involved, including politically.

Meanwhile, he said there has been ongoing engagement with Chinese officials about the resumption of beef exports to China after a case of atypical BSE was detected in a cow in November.

He said there has been no timeline yet on when exports will begin again but he hopes, given that both countries have been through the process before in 2020, there will be a much more prompt restoration.

He also said he has yet to receive a further update on the possibility of Irish beef being exported to the Korean market for the first time.

Mr McConalogue travelled to the country late last year in a bid to gain Irish access to the market.