Ireland's new European Commissioner has promised to be a champion of citizens' interests in the areas of health, safety and consumer affairs.
On his appointment as Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Mr David Byrne said the future of the EU rested on its ability to deal with "issues of real concern to ordinary men and women". The former Attorney General said recent events had shown nothing was more important than food safety.
"I look forward to championing the interests of the citizen on this issue, as well as across the wide range of health, safety, and consumer rights," he said.
He added that he had also been asked by the Commission President to take responsibility for tackling drugs in sport.
Launching the European Commission on a path of internal "revolution", the Commission President-designate, Mr Romano Prodi, unveiled his team yesterday with a pledge to restore confidence in the institution.
At his press conference in Brussels, he specifically cited food safety as one of his key priorities.
And, to emphasise the primacy of both the reform of the institutions and the need to rebuild battered relations with the European Parliament, Mr Prodi elevated both roles to vice-presidencies for the former transport commissioner, Mr Neil Kinnock, and the Spanish nominee, Ms Loyola de Palacio.
Mr Prodi made clear that he would uphold the highest ethical standards, warning that he would not hesitate to reshuffle or to invoke the solemn undertaking given by each prospective commissioner to resign if called upon by him to do so.
After five years of a half-hearted Santer leadership, no one was left in any doubt who will be running this Commission. And it was an impression reinforced by his willingness to break old taboos - none less than the appointment of a Frenchman, Mr Pascal Lamy, to the important trade dossier.
The message was that countries could neither demand jobs by right, nor be denied them as of principle, and Mr Prodi made it clear that the same would apply to the Commission's senior staff.
Fine Gael claimed Mr Byrne's portfolio was disappointing and reflected the Taoiseach's "inability to put the national interest above party considerations".
The Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said Ireland had been given "probably the most junior of all the 20 Commission portfolios. Mr Prodi clearly signalled the qualities he required for the new commissioner," he said. "For domestic political reasons, the Taoiseach chose to ignore these requirements and set in train a process which would shore up his own short-term political future, regardless of the national interest."
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, was said to be delighted with the job assigned to Mr Byrne, which would be very challenging but also high-profile.
The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, took issue with Mr Quinn, saying the post was very important. It was focused on responsibilities which had become "central issues for the European Union, as well as for all administrations and consumers throughout the world," he said.
The Greens said the portfolio "reflected the perception in Brussels that Mr Byrne was a political lightweight".
Yet observers in Brussels warn that Mr Byrne's portfolio contains responsibility for some of the most sensitive issues faced by the Union. The BSE crisis and the recent dioxin and Coca-Cola crises have dented public confidence in the authority of scientists.