Simon Coveney survives motion of no-confidence

The no-confidence motion was brought to the Dáil by Sinn Féin following the controversy surrounding the appointment of Katherine Zappone to a UN envoy role

Simon Coveney. File picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has survived a motion of no-confidence against him over his handling of the Katherine Zappone appointment controversy.

The Government tabled a countermotion of confidence in the Minister, which passed by 92 votes to 59.

Thanking those who spoke in support of him during the debate, Mr Coveney said he never thought he would be in this position and expressed regret that the controversy has detracted from the important work of the Government.

However, defending the creation of the UN Envoy role, he said: "My decision to appoint a special envoy was based on a role that was conceived, designed and recommended to me following consultation with my Department."

The Sinn Féin motion was backed by members of the Labour party, the Social Democrats, Solidarity-PBP and some Independent TDs.

Expressing confidence in the Minister ahead of the vote, the Taoiseach hit out Mary Lou McDonald's party for being "genuinely breathtaking in their cynicism and the double standards involved".

Citing a number of specific Sinn Féin appointments, Mr Martin said he didn't have enough time to go through the "list of dramatically worse and often sinister events, where looking the other way has been the defining essence of the Sinn Fein response."

Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

He told the Dáil: "Sinn Fein is seeking to demand a standard of accountability which goes well beyond anything that party has ever been willing to practice in its 50-year history– up to and including its current officeholders."

However, Ms McDonald said her party had been forced to table the motion to address "the culture of cronyism at the heart of this government."

She added that the Taoiseach who presides over a "shambolic, out-of-touch" government, had refused to do his job in holding Mr Coveney to account."

Minister Simon Coveney sought to make up a job for a friend and former colleague.

"When caught red-handed, he went about covering his tracks."

He destroyed records he was obliged to keep under the law and twice fed a cock-and-bull story to the Oireachtas Committee," she told the Dáil.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan suggested to the Dáil that both he and the Taoiseach had been "surprised" when the Katherine Zappone appointment had been raised at Cabinet before the summer break.

However, backing the Minister for Foreign Affairs he said he has always been “sincere”.

Mr Ryan added that any government needs ministers who can take initiative and who are willing to "push the boundaries sometimes, of what can be done".

Also putting the focus back on Sinn Féin, he said: “This is a functioning Government” which, in its first year, has put through 62 pieces of legislation.

“How many pieces of legislation have been put through Stormont in the last year?”

Pointing to the Sinn Féin benches, Independent TD Richard O'Donoghue said there isn't one among their ranks who would be fit to replace Mr Coveney at the present time.

Katherine Zappone

Using Dáil privilege Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy named the Minister who he believes first leaked the appointment from Cabinet.

"Rather than dealing with the debacle, Fine Gael was running a sting operation to expose that Simon Harris had leaked the appointment from the Cabinet meeting - because that is how business is done."

He claimed Mr Coveney had "made up a job that wasn't necessary and expected Irish taxpayers to pay for it".

"That is how business is done, appointments, to public bodies right up to the Supreme Court are decided not by what you know, but who you know, public finances are spent, policy decisions are made not on the basis of what's in the best interests of workers or families but has access and who is on the inside track."