The Transport Minister has said the physical appearance of a candidate for a position on a state board would be “the last thing” he would consider.

Mr Paschal Donohoe said: ““The last thing I would be considering in relation to the appointment of a man or a woman is how they look. What matters in roles like is the competence of the person, the experience of the person and the commitment they have, and they are the only considerations I would ever use or dream of using.”

Lowry passed a note to the Taoiseach in the Dáil chamber, asking Enda Kenny to consider the appointment of Ms Valerie O’Reilly to the board of the National Transport Authority.

The note described O’Reilly as, “a woman, bright, intelligent and not bad looking either.”

Mr Donohoe also told reporters that Michael Lowry TD also “briefly approached” him in relation to appointing Ms O’Reilly to the board of the National Transport Authority. Mr Donohoe said, “I heard what he had to say. I made no comment in relation to this to him.”

Mr Lowry spoke to Newstalk Lunchtime earlier today, and said “"I've never heard of a situation where a woman took exception to a compliment on her appearance, on her dress, on her shoes or on her hairstyle."

"The bottom line is in my constituency I have many women who support me at election time, those women support me because they know I treat women with courtesy and respect."