Camera and editing: Michelle Hennessy/TheJournal.ie 

“I AM VERY lucky to have a job,” Joan Burton says as she discusses the impact of austerity on her personally.

In a wide-ranging interview with TheJournal.ie yesterday, the Labour leadership contender said that she has taken “very significant, proper” salary reductions in recent years.

But she knows quite a few people who have lost their jobs and their businesses, adding: ”So I am speaking from a relative position of fortune in relation to what happened.”

The Social Protection Minister is the clear favourite to succeed Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore but insists she is taking nothing for granted and does not believe she got the endorsement of the International Monetary Fund last week.

Burton spent over 20 minutes answering a variety of questions from TheJournal.ie and our readers including:

• What alternative she would offer as Labour leader
• The mistakes the party has made in government
• Her views on the Sinn Féin/IRA nexus she has previously spoken of
  
• We also asked her three times if she would like to remain as Social Protection Minister if she becomes Labour leader.

Also:

Joan Burton: I favour legalising cannabis for medical use (and no, I’ve never smoked it)

VIDEO: What does Joan Burton think has been Labour’s biggest mistake in government?

VIDEO: Alex White on how austerity affects him and whether Joan Burton hurt his feelings