Tag Archives: Mairead McGuinness

This afternoon.

As expected, Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness is approved by fellow MEPS to become Ireland’s European Commissioner (for ‘Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union’).

It’s a new dawn. Rejoice.

Mairead McGuinness

This morning.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced that Mairead McGuinness is to be Ireland’s new European Commissioner.

She will take over the Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union portfolio.

Former Latvian prime minister Valdis Dombrovskis has been given the Trade portfolio, left vacant following the resignation of Phil Hogan….

EC President names McGuinness as Ireland’s commissioner (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

From left: Fine Gael’s Mairead McGuinnness MEP, Frances Fitzgerald MEP and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence Simon Coveney

This afternoon.

Trough latest!

Via RTÉ News:

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said he is not ruling himself out as a candidate to replace Phil Hogan as Ireland’s next European commissioner.

But, he said, he would need to be convinced that he would add “significant value” to Ireland’s chances of increasing its profile within the commission and said he is aware that Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his team are currently trying to establish if that would be the case…

Meanwhile…

It is also understood MEP Frances Fitzgerald is interested in the job and fellow MEP and European Parliament Vice President Mairead McGuinness has already publicly declared her interest.

The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Green Party leader will meet this evening to discuss the nomination.

Coveney not ruling himself out of commission post (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

From left:  Simon Coveney, Leo Varadkar, and Vice-President of the European Parliament Mairead McGuinness MEP

One of his own?

But who?

YIKES.

Earlier: A Limerick A Day

Dan Boyle: Phil The Fluter’s Other Ball

Rollingnews

This afternoon.

At the European Parliament in Brussels.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage waves the Union Jack as he delivers his farewell speech to the parliament before he gets cut off for disobeying the rules.

Fine Gael’s Mairéad McGuinness, vice-president of the parliament, tells him “goodbye” and reminds him to take his flags with him.

Earlier: Britain On The Brink

Previously: He Is Among Us

“I’ve Yet To Hear A Single Person Mention It”

Fine Gael Midlands-North-West MEP Mairead McGuinness

 

Independent European Election Candidate and patient rights activist Olive O’Connor.

FIGHT!

Olive O’Connor

Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 10.41.2890322200

From top: Fine Gael MEP Mairéad McGuinness and Brendan Ogle

Fine Gael MEP Mairéad McGuinness and Brendan Ogle, of trade union Unite and campaign group Right2Water, spoke to RTÉ’s Seán O’Rourke this morning about Irish Water.

The discussion followed reports that legal advice – commissioned by Irish Water’s parent company Ervia – apparently shows water charges can’t be abolished.

At the beginning of the interview on Today with Seaán O’Rourke, Mr Ogle accused Irish Water of selectively leaking the legal advice to a national newspaper (Irish Times), before calling on Irish Water to publish the reported legal advice on its website today.

From the interview…

Mairead McGuinness: “The privatisation issue which Brendan raises is for ideological and political reasons and I said earlier, we have politicised this issue far too much. There are over 60% of people paying their charges, it is controversial, I understand that but remember that those who obeyed the law will continue to obey the law and should be respected for it.
And, certainly from a Fine Gael perspective, our position on the water, Irish Water, and charging for water, is clear: I acknowledge that the handling of it may not have been the best of practices but we now have a structure in place which knows what’s happening above ground and below ground. And believe me, it is not pretty. We know where the investment needs to be made and we know where we need to protect our water sources and I think, if that were to be interrupted and interfered with we are going back decades and I think that would be reprehensible.”

Brendan Ogle: “Well the water notices were dealt with in Roscommon through paying progressive general taxation. There is no doubt that water notices are a disgrace, we need more investment, we need to fix the system and the way to fix the system is not to be spending €2.6billion over the next number of years on meters, it’s to put that money into fixing the leaks, protect the water in the constitution and me and Mairéad will agree on all of that. Stop wasting money on meters, stop wasting money on legal advisors, stop wasting money on public relations, put the money into fixing the leaks and protect water in public ownership.”

Listen back in full here

Previously: The Privatisation Of irish Water Is Ultimately Envisioned