FIANNA FÁIL’S NEW spokesperson on political reform has accused Labour’s Pat Rabbitte of making sexist comments, following his comments about women on the party’s revamped front bench.

Averil Power said that Rabbitte had made sexist comments about both her and and colleague Mary Fitzpatrick, RTÉ reports.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio today, Rabbitte said that FF leader Micheál Martin’s decision to put women at the forefront of a photograph of the new front bench was a “stunt for photographic purposes”.

Rabbitte said: “You might as well wander down Grafton Street and see if you can meet a couple of good-looking women and say, would you ever mind coming up for the photograph, it’s only for four weeks,” the Irish Times reports.

Power, running as a Fianna Fáil’s candidate in Dublin North East, said that Rabbitte’s comments were an “outrageous slur” and an insult to women in politics. She said: “It is a real shame that when women are given important jobs on their own merits, they have to deal with sexist comments from Pat Rabbitte. Such comments certainly won’t encourage more women to enter politics”.

She added that his “Andy Gray approach to women” shows that “all he’s about is empty soundbites and smart phrases.”