Simon Harris says allegation he leaked Katherine Zappone appointment 'totally untrue'

Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has said an allegation made against him in the Dáil that he leaked the Katherine Zappone appointment is "untrue". File photo: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Simon Harris has told said that allegations he leaked the appointment of Katherine Zappone from Cabinet are “totally untrue”.

Responding to claims made by Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy on Wednesday night, Mr Harris said what happened yesterday was an extraordinary misuse of Dáil privilege which insulates a speaker from prosecution.

The Higher Education Minister said he is strongly making a complaint to the Dáil’s oversight committee on privilege and procedure given Mr Carthy’s admission on radio that he has no evidence to support his allegation.

He said Mr Carthy made the serious charge against him without consulting his own party leader and when Mr Harris was not in the Dáil chamber.

Using Dáil privilege during Wednesday's confidence motion on Simon Coveney, Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy named the Minister who he believes first leaked the appointment to the media from Cabinet.

The Irish people deserve better than the old-fashioned insider politics that Fianna Fáil & Fine Gael have delivered for too long.
Tonight they had a chance to stand up to cronyism - they failed.
It’s time for change. pic.twitter.com/wOok9v7bcX

— Matt Carthy TD (@mattcarthy) September 15, 2021

"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."

Mr Harris was addressing the media alongside Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe at the Dublin Technological University to mark the return of students to campus.

He was also asked about the reported sting operation within Fine Gael by a junior minister to identify the source of the leak but said from his view it appeared that no link to the leak issue had been established. Mr Harris said he was aware of the so-called sting operation from media reports.

Mr Harris also denied that he was confronted by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar about the leak to the Irish Examiner on July 27, the date of the last Cabinet meeting before the summer recess when the Zappone appointment was approved.

Asked would he support an investigation into how the leak came about, he said that is a matter for the Taoiseach to decide, but he added that information from Cabinet does emerge and that is just a reality.

He also said that ministers are aware of their responsibilities in terms of respecting Cabinet confidentiality.

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Mr Donohoe said that the allegation that has been made against Mr Harris by Sinn Féin is outrageous. He described Mr Harris as a critical member of government.

Speaking today during questions on promised legislation, Mr Harris took to his feet to say the allegation was not accurate.

He said that he had been unavoidably absent from the debate and wanted to put on the Dáil record that Mr Carthy's comments were "untrue".

Asked by Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty about the leak, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said Mr Carthy's claim "was wrong" and "based on rumour with no evidence whatsoever".

He said that he hopes that the Dáil Committee on Procedure and Privileges would investigate what he called "an abuse of privilege".

Sinn Féin's Eoin O Broin had earlier said the issue of the leak matters because it is "a criminal offence".

"If I was the Taoiseach, I would be pretty concerned that people who were meant to be part of my Cabinet are breaking the law, but that's a matter for the Taoiseach and if he can't control his colleagues, particularly in Fine Gael, that says more about him than anything else."