Will Simon Coveney follow his 13 years in Cabinet with another punt at Europe?

His political career has spanned 25 years, with some indication so far that Simon Coveney does not see it being over just yet

While Simon Coveney is now stepping down from Cabinet after Simon Harris' assuming of the Fine Gael leadership, questions are now being asked as to what Mr Coveney might do next. File photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

After 13 years at the Cabinet table, the merchant prince of Cork, Simon Coveney, is due to abdicate.

The Cork South Central TD has been at the centre of Fine Gael in government since the party swept to power in 2011 alongside Labour, remaining at Cabinet in a litany of different portfolios.

His political career has spanned 25 years, with some indication so far that Mr Coveney does not see it being over just yet.

While he grew up in Cork, Mr Coveney left the city to attend the Clongowes Wood House boarding school in Co Kildare. He admitted himself in a 2010 interview that he “went off the rails” at secondary school, leading to his expulsion in Transition Year.

However, he was allowed back to finish his remaining time at the boarding school before heading off to complete a BSc in Agriculture and Land Management in Gloucestershire.

His first foray into politics came following the tragic death of his father, Hugh Coveney, a former defence minister and Lord Mayor of Cork. He was elected in the 1998 byelection brought about by his father's death.

While he was a strong supporter of the then-leader John Bruton, he came out against him during a 2001 heave which saw Michael Noonan installed as Fine Gael’s new leader.

Mr Coveney took up his first senior frontbench position under the leadership of Enda Kenny, becoming the party’s spokesperson on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.

While Leo Varadkar (left) quickly swept the parliamentary party for votes, Simon Coveney (right) took home the lions share of the grassroots support (65%), but this was not enough to clinch him the victory under Fine Gael’s electoral college system. File photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie 

However, only a few years later Mr Coveney was elected to the European Parliament and served as an MEP for three years, during which time he was also a TD.

This stint as an MEP ended at the 2007 general election, as the dual mandate — holding two positions simultaneously — for the European Parliament ended and he returned to focus solely on national politics.

He played a role in the heave against Mr Kenny in 2010, with Mr Coveney being among a number of TDs — including Leo Varadkar — who stated they did not have confidence in the Fine Gael leader. While Mr Kenny survived the push, Mr Coveney retained his position on the frontbench.

One of the most unforgettable moments of the 2010’s was his now infamous (and since deleted) tweet, where he described then-Taoiseach Brian Cowen as being “halfway between drunk and hungover” during an interview on Morning Ireland.

When Fine Gael did enter Government in 2011, Mr Coveney was appointed as the coalition’s agriculture minister where he faced challenges through the horsemeat scandal, which broke in early 2013.

The scandal, which emerged in January 2013, saw Mr Coveney shunted into the limelight and he defended the Government’s response, detailing that Ireland had been the first to tackle the Europe-wide issue.

After a two-year stint with the defence portfolio alongside his agriculture ministry, in which he was criticised for failing to deal with Air Corps whistleblowers, he was moved into the Department of Housing.

Simon Coveney was housing minister at the time of the Apollo House occupation, where activists took over the marked-for-demolition building calling for it to be refurbished into long-term accommodation for homeless people. File photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

He was housing minister at the time of the Apollo House occupation, where activists took over the marked-for-demolition building calling for it to be refurbished into long-term accommodation for homeless people.

While Mr Coveney promised to work with the protestors, the occupation was ended after 27 days and the building later demolished in 2018.

Just over a year after the 2016 general election, Enda Kenny announced he would be standing down as Fine Gael leader, with both Mr Coveney and Leo Varadkar challenging one another for the top job.

While Mr Varadkar quickly swept the parliamentary party for votes, Mr Coveney took home the lions share of the grassroots support (65%), but this was not enough to clinch him the victory under Fine Gael’s electoral college system.

This wasn’t the end for Mr Coveney, however, with his runner-up prize being the role of Tánaiste and foreign affairs minister, where he played a key role in Ireland’s team on Brexit, dealing with both EU and UK interlocutors.

When the new Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party coalition was formed in mid-2020, Mr Coveney left the Tánaiste’s office but retained the key foreign affairs portfolio.

It was during this period that he faced his most challenging controversy, regarding the proposed appointment of Katherine Zappone as a UN Special Envoy. 

Simon Coveney played a key role in Ireland’s team on Brexit, dealing with both EU and UK interlocutors. File photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

While Cabinet agreed the proposal, it was revealed that Ms Zappone had lobbied Mr Coveney for the position, with Opposition TDs labelling it as “cronyism”.

While Ms Zappone declined the position in the end, Mr Coveney faced further pressure when he confirmed that he deleted texts in relation to the controversy. For this, he faced a no-confidence vote tabled by Sinn Féin, but managed to comfortably survive the affair.

While he is now stepping down from Cabinet, questions are now being asked as to what Mr Coveney might do next. Some sources within Fine Gael have suggested he could make a return to Europe, running to become an MEP in June’s European elections.