Flynn on the up

Flynn slowly moving back up the FF ranks


Michael Duffy

BEVERLEY Flynn is now some six months back in the Fianna Fáil fold and this week there were signs that she may well be considered for a ministry in a future Cabinet reshuffle, after Foreign Affairs Minister, Micheál Martin, appointed her to a new and important Dáil sub-committee.
The Castlebar TD also admitted in an interview at the weekend that she still has ambitions for a seat on the front bench and that the Health portfolio would be ‘the most difficult but the most challenging’.
For now though, Deputy Flynn faces a challenge as part of the new Oireachtas committee, which is to hold hearings into Ireland’s future relationship with Europe in the wake of the Lisbon result.
Making the appointment, Minister Martin said Deputy Flynn and her colleagues on the new sub-committee have an important task in the weeks ahead.
“They will hold public hearings which will examine our relationship with Europe going into the future. The recently-published Government analysis shows that, despite the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, 60 per cent of Irish people have a positive attitude to the EU. It is important that we maintain our strong links with Europe, and now we must examine how best to proceed in the future. Deputy Flynn will help bring forward recommendations which will help us decide the best course to take.”
Deputy Flynn said she was honoured to be asked to help ensure Ireland continues to have a strong relationship with its neighbours and other European partners.
“I believe we have reached a milestone in our relationship with Europe, now we must carefully decide the best way forward for our country. It is my hope that we will move quickly to public hearings and that the process we are about to embark upon will be concluded in a timely manner.
“Over the coming weeks I look forward to hearing a wide range of opinions towards Europe and our role within the EU. The analysis undertaken by the Government will form the bedrock of our work and, together with the hearings, will allow us to make recommendations on Ireland’s future relationship with Europe.”
Deputy Flynn also revealed in an interview with Star Sunday at the weekend that the whole saga surrounding her action against RTÉ in 2004, which resulted in her having to pay the national broadcaster €1.3 million, remained ‘painful’.
“It was and remains painful to me. I had to take out a big loan and this is something that is going to be with me indefinitely.”