MEP Clare Daly has defended her decision to hire the son of politician pal Mick Wallace as a parliamentary assistant.
The EU representaive insisted she would “stand over the credentials” of the appointment.
Fionn Wallace is listed as one of Ms Daly’s three parliamentary assistants – positions which can earn up to €8,519 a month.
MEPs are prevented from hiring close family members but the EU rules do not apply to relatives of colleagues.
Speaking to Euro Parl Radio, Ms Daly defended her hiring policies and said Fionn Wallace has a “great track record”.
She added: “I’m very happy to stand over the credentials of all of them.
“They’re all highly qualified for the job and in the case of Fionn Wallace, I’m lucky to get him.”
“I consider myself fortunate in all of the people I’ve employed.
“They’re the best people for the job and the conditions for the job were set by others not by me.”
The maximum allowance per month for recruiting parliamentary assistants is €24,943.
Fionn Wallace, 37, who will work in Brussels, Luxembourg or Strasbourg, is direcly employed by the European Parliament.
He is a former director of his MEP dad’s Wallace Calcio Limited wine bar and restaurant business.
Four years ago Fionn Wallace was reportedly paid €20,000 for work listed as “research” and “policy formulation” from his father’s parliamentary activities allowance.
Ms Daly and Mick Wallace, who were elected in May, did not reply to requests for comment on Thursday night.
