FORMER MINISTER of State Willie Penrose has resumed his career as a barrister, two months after resigning his Cabinet post in protest at the closure of a midlands barracks.
Mr Penrose, who lost the Government whip but remains a member of the Labour Party, was in the Four Courts last week liaising with solicitors and dealing with clients.
He confirmed that he had resumed his legal career part time after a break while he was a minister. “I’ve practised before and there’s nothing to stop me,” he said, pointing out that numerous barrister members of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had combined legal work with membership of the Dáil.
Asked whether he could adequately represent his constituents while having a second job, Mr Penrose said he had no doubt that he could, adding: “It’s my profession. I’ve always practised and I always will. It’s no big deal.”
Mr Penrose did not speak in the Dáil from the time of his resignation until last Thursday but he pointed out yesterday that he has been ill and was ordered by his doctor to rest. He revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and is to undergo further treatment shortly.
He served as a so-called “super junior” minister, with responsibility for housing, on a salary of €146,000 a year for eight months before his resignation last year. On leaving, he qualified for severance of about €30,000 but did not qualify for a ministerial pension because he had less than the two years of service required.
Yesterday, he said he had “no regrets” about his decision to resign, though he appeared to accept the decision to close Columb Barracks in Mullingar was a fait accompli. His focus now was finding a new home in the town for a collection of Army memorabilia housed in the barracks, he said.
Mr Penrose (54), from Ballinacargy, Co Westmeath, joined Labour at the age of 13 and has been a poll-topper for the party since he was first elected to the Dáil in 1992.