The Coalition is struggling to contain the fallout from Katherine Zappone's appointment as UN special envoy after it emerged she privately thanked Simon Coveney over the role months before being formally nominated.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs will on Tuesday face an onslaught of questioning over the appointment at the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, with Opposition charges that the process "stinks to high heaven".
There was deep concern among senior figures across Government on Monday night after a dramatic day which saw more than 100 documents connected to the appointment released by the Department of Foreign Affairs under the Freedom of Information Act.
Text messages sent to Mr Coveney’s phone released by the department show Ms Zappone thanked him in early March for the “incredible opportunity” of the job as special envoy.
However, other records released by the department show officials didn’t begin discussing the scope of the role for several weeks thereafter.
The records also appear to contradict explanations given by Mr Coveney this summer, when he said the role was not created for Ms Zappone and it was only after the creation of the job was decided upon that he asked her if she would be willing to do it.
However, Mr Coveney is likely to cite evidence given by the former secretary general of the department, Niall Burgess, last week when he said he had a "brief" and "informal" conversation with Mr Coveney shortly after February 24th this year in which Mr Burgess mentioned that the US was appointing a special envoy for LGTBI+ rights and that the department would "look particularly at that area of the department's work".
The documents show how Ms Zappone contacted Mr Coveney and officials several times seeking updates on the role, all before she had signed a contract or had the appointment sanctioned at Cabinet level. Mr Coveney has said she did not lobby for the position.
The controversy, which has already drawn in Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, also reached Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe when it emerged he had referred her to Mr Coveney after she sought his counsel on a role at the UN or another international organisation.
Mr Coveney will come under pressure to explain his interactions with Ms Zappone that led to a text message on March 4th of this year in which she thanked him "so, so much for this incredible opportunity. It will be a privilege and I will be so proud to serve Ireland again."
On the same day, she noted that she “spoke with Paschal too yesterday”.
Future in the UN
In a message the previous month, she said she spoke to Mr Donohoe in February. In a statement, Mr Donohoe said Ms Zappone sought his advice at the end of 2020 regarding a future in the UN and other international organisations. “I suggested she contact Minister Coveney for advice. At some point in the new year I mentioned this potential contact to Minister Coveney,” he said, adding that he had no further engagement with him on the issue.
Records released show Jerry O'Connor, a former adviser to Ms Zappone, had told departmental officials that "she was doing some work with DFA on LGBTI issues". Also in June, Ms Zappone contacted Geraldine Byrne Nason, Irish Ambassador to the UN, seeking an update. "She asked me what had happened to her nomination as ... envoy. She said there is radio silence from the Minister with whom she had been in touch."
The Opposition, meanwhile, will seek to press home charges that the appointment was a ready-up. Gary Gannon, the Social Democrats spokesman on foreign affairs, said it "stinks to high heaven".
In a statement, Mr Coveney apologised for the controversy the appointment had caused, and said he would “give a complete explanation of the timelines and decision-making process on bringing a recommendation to Government to establish this post” to the committee meeting on Tuesday.
He also said he agreed with the Taoiseach’s call for all future appointments to be made by open public competition.
