DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's social protection minister, Joan Burton, was elected new leader of the Labour Party, junior partner in government, on Friday with the task of arresting a collapse in support that led to a local election hammering. Burton takes over from former deputy prime minister Eamon Gilmore, who resigned in May after Labour were punished by voters for implementing an austerity programme that has put the country's finances back on track.
Burton, the first woman to lead the centre-left party, has said she will stick to EU-imposed deficit reduction targets but believes austerity has reached its limits in Ireland and expects a significant easing of planned budget cuts later this year.
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