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30th Aug 2020

Mairead McGuinness confirms that she’s interested in replacing Phil Hogan in EU post

Paddy McKenna

The Drogheda politician has thrown her hat in the ring.

Mairead McGuinness was speaking on RTÉ’s This Week programme on Radio 1 when she confirmed her interest in succeeding Phil Hogan as Ireland’s EU Commissioner.

She is currently serving the EU as Vice President of the European Parliament.

She said that, “nobody has sounded her out” yet, but that she had, “spoke to one person for advice, the others came to me”.

On Thursday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen asked the Irish government to propose a man and a woman as candidates to replace Phil Hogan, who resigned from the position of European Commissioner on Wednesday night following the controversy that resulted from his attending a golfing event in Clifden and his movements leading up to and after it.

There has been speculation that Ireland will propose only one candidate but McGuinness said that it would be “unwise” to not put forward the two that have been requested.

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