Long-time Fianna Fáil adviser Kevin Barrett is expected to take over as European commissioner for justice Michael McGrath’s “chef de cabinet”, a senior role in the Brussels political system.
Barrett, who worked for McGrath for several years when he was a government minister, is a senior official in his commission “cabinet” of advisers, covering justice policy.
He is to replace Irish diplomat Fiona Knab-Lunny as head of McGrath’s team in September, following her departure to take up a job as the EU’s ambassador to the Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
A commissioner’s chef de cabinet is their point person in high-level policy debates inside the European Commission, the EU executive body that proposes laws and regulations.
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The “chefs” of each commissioner meet weekly to lay the ground for political discussions by their superiors and commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Barrett, who is from Glasheen in Cork city, served as a key adviser to McGrath during his time as minister for public expenditure and minister for finance, and previously advised Fianna Fáil on economic policy when the party was in Opposition.
Generally, the head of a commissioner’s cabinet has to have prior EU experience, something that would have likely prevented Barrett from taking the top job in McGrath’s office when the Fianna Fáil politician was selecting his commission team in 2024.
McGrath holds the commission portfolio covering justice, rule of law and consumer protection.
