Irish Examiner view: We need to draw a line under this sorry saga

Zappone controversy fallout continues

Katherine Zappone with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.

On Thursday the Government announced that it will spend an unprecedented €20bn over the next five years to deliver 160,000 homes under its Housing For All plan, yet the State’s most ambitious strategy to date was overshadowed by the ongoing fallout over the Zappone controversy.

The failed appointment of Katherine Zappone to a UN special envoy role reveals a serious lack of process and transparency. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, and deleted texts have kept the story alive in another example of the Government’s seeming inability to talk to each other, playing into opposition hands and fanning the flames of the modern news cycle.

It was no surprise to hear former agriculture minister Barry Cowen’s complaints that Fianna Fáil TDs, including himself, had been sacked over similar issues, but do we really need to hear senior politicians comment on his comments?

Their responses — from Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald to Arts Minister Catherine Martin — toppled the long-awaited housing plan from what should have been its top spot on the news list.

At a time when hundreds of thousands of people are priced out of the property market, Ireland continues to fight Covid-19, and Irish citizens remain in Afghanistan, will we have to wait much longer for someone to draw a line under this sorry saga?