Luke Ming Flanagan laughs off 'dangers of working from home' after Parliament pants faux pas
MEP Luke Ming Flanagan has said there were some positive aspects to the attention on his legs at an online European Committee meeting yesterday.
He said yesterday he had returned from a run and wore a shirt along with his shorts while taking part.
Ming rocking the shirt & shorts vibe. One of the great things about following .@lukeming is you get a feeling for the institution & his passion for getting things done (whether you support him politically, or not) pic.twitter.com/wFkzUr7bsA
— Dr Robert Bohan (@RobertBohan) June 2, 2020
The Roscommon politician said at least it got some focus on an important committee as well.
He told The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk radio this morning: “When is the last time you ever heard anyone talking about what happened in the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee in the European Parliament?” he asked.
“Even though there is about €1.6bn spent in Ireland every year on it.
“So, from that point of view, it is good to get it aired.”
The Independent MEP said his camera was on landscape instead of portrait and resulted in his legs being on view.
“I put on my shirt about five minutes before I asked the question because I said to myself, ‘I might look a bit better with my shirt on,’” he said.
Some people might find it hard to believe that I would ever think along those lines but, as anyone knows, a pair of shorts and a shirt don’t go very well together if you can see the bottom half of your body.
“I put my iPad in landscape rather than portrait – but such are the dangers of working from home.”
He also said he would support a long-term change to the way the European Parliament works hoping that online meetings and voting would become a permanent feature.
“I have to say, overall, working from home suits me an awful lot better,” he said.
“I get to see my children more often, I get to attend way more meetings, my carbon footprint is through the floor, my expenses are down to zero and my productivity is up,” he said.
“So, if they could ever continue this into the future and let us vote and work remotely, I have to say I find it very effective – albeit with a few glitches as you can see.”
