Varadkar appoints all-woman team to Seanad with four picks

LEO VARADKAR has shown his support for gender equality by appointing an all-woman team to the Seanad, while Micheál Martin selected the first ever member of the Travelling community.

Under the Coalition deal, Mr Varadkar had four picks on the Taoiseach’s nominees panel and in selecting Regina Doherty among them he also appointed her Leader of the new Seanad.

One senior source said: ‘It’s a high-profile post with a nice little €20,000 bonus as well.’

Mr Varadkar’s other choices included first-time election candidate Emer Currie, who ran in the ex-taoiseach’s own constituency, Mary Seery-Kearney – the designated FG successor to Kate O’Connell – and Roscommon-Galway candidate Aisling Dolan.

Sources confirmed that there was ‘absolutely no possibility of a recall for Kate O’Connell’.

Fianna Fáil leader Martin also selected the first ever member of the Travelling community to be appointed to the Seanad. Eileen Flynn narrowly missed being elected to one of the vocational panels earlier in the year.

Mr Martin also appointed two women – Mary Fitzpatrick and Lorraine Clifford-Lee – who narrowly missed out on election to the Seanad, while former FF frontbencher Timmy Dooley also secured a political lifeline. In yet another snub to independents, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran was not appointed.

The Greens also appointed two narrowly defeated election candidates with Vincent P Martin – a brother of Catherine Martin – and Róisín Garvey securing the nod.

The Seanad will sit on Monday.