Irish MEP Mairead McGuinness wants EU commissioner role

Fine Gael MEP says she’d like to take over from Phil Hogan.

MEP Mairead McGuinness has thrown her name into the hat to replace Phil Hogan as Ireland’s European commissioner.

McGuinness confirmed her interest in the role to Irish paper the Sunday Independent. The post became available last week following Hogan’s resignation after a scandal over breaking coronavirus restrictions.

McGuinness, who has been an MEP since 2004 and is a member of the Fine Gael party, told the Sunday Independent: “I have been in the Parliament 16 years, I have worked my way through that milieu where I have managed to get support across the house.”

“I got 90 percent of the vote when I was elected first vice president so I have a track record. My name is in the mix, but I am very aware that this process is only beginning in Ireland and it is a government decision. The nomination will be made by the Taoiseach and I respect that,” she said.

Other names understood to be in the frame for the role include Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney and Fine Gael MEP Frances Fitzgerald, the Sunday Independent reported.