PUBLIC EXPENDITURE MINISTER has said Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore is clearly a candidate “worth considering” for the job of Ireland’s next European Commissioner.

The outgoing Labour leader’s name has emerged as a candidate for the post in recent weeks, following his decision to step down from his role within the party.

It had long been understood that the role was being reserved for Environment Minister Phil Hogan — while in recent weeks, the name of Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness has also been linked with the job.

Asked about Gilmore’s qualifications for the post on his way into this morning’s Cabinet meeting, Howlin described Gilmore as…

“Somebody who is the current leader of a major political party in the country who would have contacts across the European Union, all the Social Democratic parties and who also has held the post of foreign minister…

So he would know every senior player in Europe would obviously be a candidate that’s worth considering.

Who gets the job is likely to be the subject of negotiations between the two coalition parties as soon as the Labour leadership race is sorted out, with either Joan Burton or Alex White to be elected this Friday.

Alan Kelly — the frontrunner to take over the deputy leader role in Labour — yesterday declined to publicly state a preference on who should take over from Márie Geoghegan-Quinn, telling reporters “you can ask me that a thousand times and I am not going to give you that answer”.

Read: Costello says Gilmore has the ‘strongest credentials’ for European Commissioner job

Read: We asked these two ministers who they’d like Ireland’s next European Commissioner to be*