JOAN BURTON, the Labour party deputy leader, has said she wants to move on from the controversy surrounding her appointment as minister for social protection despite admitting that she was “surprised” and “bewildered” by it.
Sources have told The Sunday Times that Burton, who had been tipped to be minister for expenditure and public sector reform, was “horrified” at not getting the role and was “reeling with shock” when she returned to the Dail chamber for the announcement of the new cabinet.
An informed source has also said Eamon Gilmore, the Labour leader, explicitly instructed Burton to take charge of the party’s negotiations on economic matters during the coalition partners’ talks on the Programme for Government. It is understood Gilmore phoned his finance spokeswoman the night before the talks began and said she was to lead the economic detail in the talks. He said Brendan Howlin would look after the mechanics of putting the wider programme together.
Ten days later, Burton was the last of the party’s cabinet nominees to be informed that she was being made a minister. By then, Howlin had been appointed a finance minister responsible for expenditure and public-sector reform.
Speaking on RTE Radio yesterday, Burton denied there was any row between herself and Gilmore regarding her appointment. It is understood, however, that Burton warned Gilmore at the time of her appointment that there would be controversy.
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Burton was told what department she would be getting at 4.15pm on Wednesday. An unscheduled Dail adjournment caused by Enda Kenny’s late return from Aras an Uachtarain was still under way when Burton got a call that her leader wanted to see her. They met alone in the cabinet dining room and the meeting lasted less than three minutes.
When Gilmore told her she was getting the Department of Social Protection, Burton replied that the decision would send out shock waves. Gilmore tried to reassure her it was an important job with a vast budget. He then read aloud a code of ethics applicable to all the new ministers.
Burton told RTE yesterday that she had to “shift gear” when offered the role of social protection. “I think Eamon has every confidence in me,” she said, after RTE played an extract from an interview with Gilmore last October when Marian Finucane asked who he intended appointing as finance minister.
“Joan Burton, of course,” Gilmore had replied, adding that as finance spokeswoman since 2002, Burton had “been doing an outstanding job”.
Burton’s appointment to social protection and the decision not to give a senior role to either Róisín Shortall or Jan O’Sullivan has been criticised by some of Labour’s foremost women members. Shortall was described by one source as “livid” at her exclusion.
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“She was very close to telling Gilmore what he could do with his junior ministry,” said a female colleague, “but she knew it would be a two-day story and she’d be out in the cold.”
“Personally, I'm very disappointed Joan’s not minister for finance, or some finance minister. I think she’d have been great,” said Senator Ivana Bacik, Gilmore’s unsuccessful running mate in Dun Laoghaire and an advocate of gender quotas in elections.
A Labour TD who did not want to be named said: “It’s ironic — everyone thought Kenny was the weak leader but Gilmore’s turned out to be the weak one.”
Mary Murphy, a member of the party’s central council, said the cabinet composition raised doubts about Labour’s sincerity in pursuing gender equality.
“There are members of the party who have discussed resigning since Wednesday,” said Murphy, a former councillor in Dublin North West. “Labour women need to be galvanised now into a campaign. There is a loose commitment in the Programme for Government linking party funding with [women] candidates. This needs to be brought forward urgently.”
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Yesterday a spokesman for the Labour party said he was unaware of any phone call between Gilmore and Burton prior to the coalition negotiations, but that it would “not be surprising” for one to take place. He was not aware of any resignations of women members from the party, and pointed out Gilmore had 11 appointments to make, and five of them are women.
nThe Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin will appoint a temporary front bench this week, and take further time to assess the position of his damaged party.
Permanent appointments to the front bench will not be made until at least May, after the Seanad elections. This will give Martin a larger pool of talent to choose from.
Seán Ó Fearghaíl, the new Fianna Fail chief whip, said Martin wanted time to speak to members before making final decisions.