Zappone turns down UN special envoy job after political pressure

Former minister Katherine Zappone has said she is turning down a Government job to act as a special envoy to the United Nations after criticism about the manner of her appointment.

In a statement by email on Wednesday afternoon, Ms Zappone said: “While I am honoured to have been appointed by the Government to be the Special Envoy on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, it is clear that criticism of the appointment process has impacted the legitimacy of the role itself.

“It is my conviction that a special envoy role can only be of real value to Ireland and to the global community if the appointment is acceptable to all parties.

“For this reason, I have decided not to accept this appointment, and I have communicated my decision to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.”

Political pressure had been growing on Wednesday as attention turned to an event organised by Ms Zappone last month.

Ms Zappone organised the private outdoor event when she was in Dublin, prior to her appointment to the role as a special envoy.

The event was held in the Merrion Hotel, which has said it was done in line with guidelines for such events. There were around 50 people at the event.

Ms Zappone, who now lives in New York, was asked by Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney to become Ireland’s special envoy â€" a job taking 50 days a year of work, and worth €15,000 a year in pay.

The appointment has caused controversy as Mr Coveney confirmed no one else was considered for the role.

Ms Zappone earlier released a statement about the hotel event. The event was first reported in the Irish Independent.

“Please contact the Merrion Hotel for their statement regarding compliance with government Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines for my private event,” she said in a statement to RTÉ news, in what was her first public comment about the matter.

“Prior to organizing the event I enquired, and was assured by the Merrion Hotel, that the event would be in compliance with government Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines.”

Event guidelines

In its statement on the event hosted by Ms Zappone, the Merrion Hotel said: “At all times since the start of the pandemic, we have adhered to Government public health measures including the relevant guidelines that were in place at the time of the event you reference on July 21st.

“These have since been updated on July 23rd. Government regulations at the time allowed for outdoor events of up to 200 people, and the definition of that includes social events.”

The hotel said the version of the guidelines in place on July 21st did not allow indoor organised events but made no reference to organised outdoor events.

The more recent Fáilte Ireland guidelines that reflect changes made since July 23rd now say that “organised events are currently not permitted”.

The Merrion Hotel statement also said that in the earlier guidelines there was no restriction specified for multiple table bookings of food and beverage service outdoors.

There was such a restriction for dining indoors at the time.

In the more recent guidelines, multiple table bookings are now not allowed for both indoor and outdoor events.

Earlier, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Farrell contrasted Ms Zappone’s event with the treatment of First Communions and Confirmations.

“You know it’s okay to have a bash in the Merrion Hotel with 50 people present. But yet, it’s not possible for a parent to take their child along to receive the sacrament,” he told RTÉ Radio One.

Duncan Smith, the Labour Party TD for Dublin Fingal, said on Twitter it was time for Ms Zappone to “break her silence and decline this appointment”.

Social Democrats TD for Dublin Central Gary Gannon claimed the event was “grubby” and said the appointment should be halted until it had received proper Dáil oversight.

He added, however, that Ms Zappone “could just recognise that public trust has been damaged here and withdraw”.

Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne said there needs to be a “full and clear statement as to what happened”.

Mr Byrne said: “There’s is a lot of annoyance in Fianna Fáil about how this happened. The vaccine programme is now going really well, we have got significant housing legislation and investment through housing, infrastructure and education, and this is a distraction that should not have occurred.”

He said he has concerns about the envoy role, and that the process used to make the decision should be explained, as should whether it was suggested by Ms Zappone or the UN. “The Taoiseach appears to have been blindsided by the issue and that is poor form”

Government meeting

Meanwhile, the hospitality sector has said it will seek clarification on outdoor gatherings within hospitality venues at a meeting with Government officials today, after news of the event emerged.

Matt Carthy, the Sinn Féin agriculture spokesman, said on Wednesday that his interpretation of the spirit of the guidelines was that these types of events were not permitted, and that local sporting organisations had been “crying out” to hold fundraisers which would have been of similar size and character to Ms Zappone’s event.

“The full details of the event need to come out before people make a judgement with regards to the compliance with the rules for the event,” he said, but argued the context of Ms Zappone’s appointment as a special envoy also had to be taken into account.

The Irish Independent story quoted the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) as saying that Fáilte Ireland’s guidelines for hotels and state that “organised events, indoor and outdoor, are not permitted” unless they are weddings or “non-social meetings, training and educational programmes considered essential to the operation of a business”.

The Irish Times sought the IHF’s statement on the rules surrounding events at hotels.

A spokeswoman said: “The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) cannot comment on individual hotels.”

She suggested contacting the Merrion Hotel’s media representatives as well as Fáilte Ireland.

The CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI), Adrian Cummins, has said that he was certain that the Merrion Hotel acted in good faith when it organised the event hosted by Ms Zappone.

All hospitality needed to be playing on the same pitch, he told RTÉ Radio. Fáilte Ireland needed to clarify the situation with regard to outdoor gatherings, he added.

“We’re all under extreme pressure to adhere to public health guidelines.”

There were questions to be answered about the event, he said, such as were food and beverages served. “We need all the facts on the table.”

Multiple tables could not be booked under the guidelines, he said. If a mistake had been made “so be it.”

A statement was needed by the Government about what was acceptable and what was not. The RAI was getting calls from businesses concerned about having to turn away business. “We want to make sure we’re all on the same page, that we all understand what is acceptable,” he said.

The entire sector needed to be clear about the public health guidelines. “We want to protect public health at all times.” Clarity would ensure that such confusion did not happen again, he said and he would be seeking that clarification from Fáilte Ireland at a meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

Committee meeting

On Tuesday, Fine Gael’s Charlie Flanagan, chair of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs committee, has said the “Zappone issue” should be discussed by committee members “as soon as practicable”.

He said that he had agreed with its members that the “Zappone issue should be placed on the agenda for discussion as soon as practicable”.

He said that he has sought extra information on the appointment from Mr Coveney’s Department.

“I have sought background briefing documents from the Department of Foreign Affairs on receipt of which I will circulate to members to inform the debate”.

“It’s expected Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney will assist the committee in its work,” he said.

However, it was expected it would be September before a meeting was convened, with members and committee staff unavailable at different times during August.

The Department of Foreign Affairs had no comment to make on Wednesday afternoon following Ms Zappone’s statement.

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