Simon Coveney (born 16 June 1972) is an Irish
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
politician who has served as
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment ( ga, An tAire Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
The current Minister for Ent ...
since December 2022 and
Deputy Leader of Fine Gael since 2017. He previously served as
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
and
Minister for Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
from 2020 to 2022. He has served as a
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
(TD) for the
Cork South-Central constituency since 1998. He previously served as
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...
from 2017 to 2020,
Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government from 2016 to 2017 and
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine ( ga, An tAire Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Historically, the agriculture portfol ...
from 2011 to 2016. He also served as a
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
(MEP) for the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
constituency from 2004 to 2007.
He was elected to
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
in a by-election in 1998, following the death of his father
Hugh Coveney.
After the formation of the
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
in March 2011, Coveney was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Following a cabinet reshuffle in July 2014, which saw him also take over the position of Minister for Defence.
On the formation of a
Fine Gael minority government in May 2016, he was appointed
Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. In June 2017, after
Leo Varadkar
Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to De ...
succeeded
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
as
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
, Coveney was appointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Deputy Leader of Fine Gael. He was appointed
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...
(deputy prime minister) in November 2017, following the resignation of Frances Fitzgerald. As part of the new
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
formed following the
2020 general election, Coveney was appointed
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
and
Defence
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
in the new cabinet.
Early life
Coveney was born in
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
in 1972 to
Hugh Coveney and Pauline Coveney. He has 5 brothers and 1 sister. His father was a chartered
quantity surveyor
A quantity surveyor (QS) is a construction industry professional with expert knowledge on construction costs and contracts. Qualified professional quantity surveyors are known as Chartered Surveyors (Members and Fellows of RICS) in the UK and Ce ...
and later a
TD, and also a member of one of the famous merchant families in the city. His uncle was Archbishop
Patrick Coveney
Patrick Coveney (29 July 1934 – 22 October 2022) was an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1966 to 2009. He became an archbishop in 1985 and fulfilled several assignments as Aposto ...
. Simon was educated locally in Cork, before later attending
Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...
,
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
. He was expelled from the college in
Transition Year
Transition Year (TY) ( ga, Idirbhliain) is an optional one-year school programme that can be taken in the year after the Junior Certificate in Ireland. However, depending on school population and funding it may not be available, and in other sch ...
but ultimately was invited back to complete his full six years there. He repeated his
Leaving Certificate
A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination.
For each leaving certifica ...
in Bruce College in Cork. Coveney subsequently attended
University College Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...
and
Gurteen Agricultural College, before completing a BSc in Agriculture and Land Management from
Royal Agricultural College
;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts"
, established = 2013 - University status – College
, type = Public
, president = King Charles
, vice_chancellor = Peter McCaffery
, students ...
,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
. In 1997/8, he led the “Sail Chernobyl Project” which involved sailing a boat 30,000 miles around the world and raising €650,000 for charity. He spent several years working as an agriculture adviser and farm manager.
Political career
Early years in Dáil Éireann: 1998–2004
Coveney was elected to
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
as a Fine Gael candidate for
Cork South-Central in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
, caused by the death of his father in 1998. In spite of being a strong supporter of party leader
John Bruton
John Gerard Bruton (born 18 May 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009, Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001, Leader of ...
, he remained on the backbenches for a number of years.
In 2001, discipline in the parliamentary party broke down and Coveney came out against Bruton in a leadership heave. His loss of support was a surprise and encouraged others to vote against Bruton. The subsequent
leadership contest was won by
Michael Noonan and a new front bench was put in place.
After an initial period on the backbenches, Coveney was promoted to the
Front Bench
In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kn ...
by
Michael Noonan, as deputy chief whip.
Coveney was re-elected at the
2002 general election, in what turned out to be a disaster for Fine Gael. The party lost twenty-three seats and some of its most important party figures. Noonan was replaced as party leader by
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
, who promoted Coveney to the position of Spokesperson on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, in his new front bench.
Member of the European Parliament: 2004–2007
![6th EU Parliament Coveney 28118](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/6th_EU_Parliament_Coveney_28118.jpg)
Coveney was elected to the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
for the
South constituency
South ( is, Suður) is one of the six multi-member constituencies of the Althing, the national legislature of Iceland. The constituency was established as Southern ( is, Suðurland) in 1959 following the nationwide extension of proportional repre ...
, in the
2004 European Parliament election
The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...
. During his three years as an
MEP, Coveney held the position of human rights co-ordinator for the largest political group in the European Parliament, the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
, and twice authored the Parliament's Annual Report on Human Rights in the world. He spearheaded the Stop the Traffic campaign at the European Parliament. He was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Delegation for Relations with the United States and a substitute on the Human Rights Subcommittee, Fisheries Committee, Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and the Delegation for Relations with Iran.
Return to the Dáil: 2007–2011
Coveney returned to Ireland to contest the
2007 general election. He was successful in being returned to the Dáil, as a result, he stepped down as a Member of the European Parliament. He was replaced in the European Parliament by
Colm Burke.
Fine Gael won back many of the seats that the party had lost five years earlier; however, they still fell short of forming a coalition government with the
Labour Party. Coveney returned to the party's front bench as Spokesperson on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
In June 2010, Coveney and a number of other front bench Spokespersons stated that they had
no confidence in their party leader, Enda Kenny. A subsequent confidence motion in the leader was won by Kenny.
Coveney was re-appointed to the front bench as Spokesperson on Transport.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2011–2016
On 9 March 2011, Coveney was appointed
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine ( ga, An tAire Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Historically, the agriculture portfol ...
, in the new Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition government.
He attended his first
meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers, in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
on 17 March 2011.
Coveney provoked controversy when, in September 2011, he flew to
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
, on the government jet at a cost of more than €26,000 to the Irish taxpayer when there were flights available for €16,331. While there, Coveney cut a ribbon at the opening of a supermarket in
Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
.
In May 2014, Coveney attended a meeting of the
Bilderberg Group
The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defin ...
, in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
.
Minister for Defence: 2014–2016
On 11 July 2014, Coveney was also appointed as
Minister for Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, in a cabinet reshuffle, following the resignation of
Eamon Gilmore Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to:
* Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name
* Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist
* ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II
*"Éam ...
as
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...
. He took over from
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
, who was the acting Minister for Defence, following
Alan Shatter
Alan Joseph Shatter (born 14 February 1951) is an Irish lawyer, author and former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2014. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Sou ...
's resignation from cabinet, in May 2014. As Minister for Defence, Coveney launched th
White Paper on Defencein August 2015.
On 17 June 2015, Coveney questioned the judgment of an experienced Air Corps pilot who refused to fly him to Cork, because of predicted fog. In email correspondence between
Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
officials, the Air Corps is described as being "very unhappy" about the incident and indicating that they had never received such a call in 25 years."
In January 2017 it emerged that a number of Air Corps whistleblowers had attempted to contact Coveney while he was Defence Minister over their concerns about the adverse health impacts of chemicals used to service the force's aircraft. The whistleblowers had complained about being unable to speak to Coveney about the issue, however Coveney claimed he was "not aware of there being any problem with hearing from, or talking to, or understanding the concerns that whistleblowers may have".
The ''
Irish Examiner
The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...
'' subsequently published a series of text messages between one of the whistleblowers and then-Chief Whip
Regina Doherty
Regina Doherty (; born 26 January 1971) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Deputy leader of Seanad Éireann since 2022. She was Leader of the Seanad from 2020 to 2022, and is Leader of Fine Gael in the Seanad since June 2020. S ...
sent in January 2016. Doherty forwarded a text message onto one of the whistleblowers that she said came from Coveney, in which he said he would call this whistleblower the next day. The call never took place.
Speaking in the Dáil on the revelations, Fianna Fáil leader
Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence since Decembe ...
described the Government handling of the whistleblowers' complaints as 'a scandal'.
Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: 2016–17
On 6 May 2016, Coveney was appointed the new
Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, with Taoiseach Enda Kenny taking over the Defence portfolio and Fine Gael TD
Michael Creed becoming the new Minister for Agriculture.
Fine Gael leadership election: 2017
On 2 June 2017, Coveney lost the
2017 Fine Gael leadership election to
Leo Varadkar
Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to De ...
, despite gaining the support of 65% of party members (party members only had 25% of the vote in Fine Gael's electoral college). The winner was expected to succeed
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
as
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
. On 13 June 2017, it was announced that he would be the deputy leader of the party.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade: 2017–2022
After Leo Varadkar was appointed Taoiseach, by the
President of Ireland
The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces.
The president holds office for seven years, and can ...
, as part of his new cabinet, Coveney was appointed
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, with special responsibilities for
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
. Coveney replaced
Charles Flanagan
Charlie Flanagan (born 1 November 1956) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency since 2020, and previously from 1987 to 2002, 2007 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2020 for the Laois const ...
, who became
Minister for Justice and Equality. It was understood Coveney heavily lobbied Varadkar for the role as he wanted a large role on
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
. In his capacity as Minister, he has also been co-chairing the
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
(EPP)
Justice and Home Affairs Ministers Meeting since 2018, alongside
Esteban González Pons.
According to
Lawrence Franklin of the
Gatestone Institute
Gatestone Institute is a far-right think tank known for publishing anti-Muslim articles. It was founded in 2008 by Nina Rosenwald, who serves as its president. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former national security advisor, J ...
, within the Irish government, Coveney opposes the
Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill to ban goods produced in
Israeli settlements
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
. He has expressed concern that the bill might contravene EU trade law.
In July 2020, he was re-appointed as
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
. The Trade part of the portfolio was transferred to another government department.
On 25 March 2022, Coveney was giving a speech in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
when he forced to leave the stage, following the discovery of a "suspect device" in a hjacked van in the carpark. Coveney had been speaking following a meeting with the John and Pat Hume Foundation.
Coveney and Ireland's ambassador to Ukraine Thérèse Healy visited Ukraine on 13 April 2022 where Coveney met his counterparts, Ukraine foreign minister
Dmytro Kuleba
Dmytro Ivanovych Kuleba ( uk, Дмитро Іванович Кулеба; born 19 April 1981) is a Ukrainian politician, diplomat, and communications specialist, currently serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is also concurrently a member ...
and defence minister
Oleksii Reznikov
Oleksii Yuriyovych Reznikov (; born 18 June 1966) is a Ukrainian lawyer and politician who has served as the List of Ministers of Defense (Ukraine), Minister of Defence of Ukraine since 4 November 2021. Reznikov previously has served in sever ...
, in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
and visited the site of the
Bucha massacre
The Bucha massacre ( uk, Бучанська різанина, Buchanska rizanyna) was the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians by Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the Ukrainian city of Bucha amid the Russian invasi ...
the following day. Coveney travelled via Poland and was the first foreign minister on the UN Security Council to visit Ukraine since the
Russian invasion began in February. He was also accompanied by a political adviser and a protection team.
On 20 May 2022, Coveney took over from
Luigi Di Maio
Luigi Di Maio (; born 6 July 1986) is an Italian former stadium beverage vendor and politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2022, as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Economic Development, Labour and Soci ...
as chairman of the
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
's
Committee of Ministers. He will serve in this role until November 2022.
Tánaiste
On 30 November 2017, Leo Varadkar named Coveney as the new
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...
, replacing
Frances Fitzgerald.
Brexit negotiations
On 27 January 2019, Coveney in an interview with
Andrew Marr
Andrew William Stevenson Marr (born 31 July 1959) is a British journalist and broadcaster. Beginning his career as a political commentator, he subsequently edited ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to 1998 and was political editor of BBC N ...
, said the
Irish backstop
The Irish backstop (formally the Northern Ireland Protocol) was a proposed protocol to a draft Brexit withdrawal agreement that never came into force. It was developed by the Second May ministry, May government and the European Commission in De ...
in the
Brexit withdrawal agreement
The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...
will not be changed. He said the backstop was already a pragmatic compromise between the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
to avoid infrastructure on the Irish border, that there was no sensible legally-sound alternative to the backstop, and that the European Parliament would not ratify a Brexit withdrawal agreement without the backstop in it.
COVID-19 pandemic
As Minister for Foreign Affairs, Coveney headed up the response to the COVID-19 pandemic on behalf of the
Government of Ireland
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...
. On 10 March 2020, he upgraded travel advice recommending that Irish citizens do not travel to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. He added that people should think carefully about unnecessary public gatherings and urged the public to play their part and help themselves by following advice and doing practical things like sneezing and washing hands properly.
Katherine Zappone controversy
In July 2021, Coveney found himself embroiled in a political scandal relating to the appointment of former Fine Gael Minister
Katherine Zappone
Katherine Zappone (; born 25 November 1953) is an American-Irish independent politician who served as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs from May 2016 to June 2020. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-West constituency from ...
as a special envoy to the UN. During a cabinet meeting of the coalition government, Coveney proposed Zappone for the role without having previously discussed the matter with Taoiseach
Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence since Decembe ...
. Martin expressed concerns about the appointment but ultimately allowed it. Subsequently, it emerged that Coveney had not advertised or offered the role to anyone but Zappone, and that in the run-up to the appointment, Zappone had hosted an event at the
Merrion Hotel
Merrion Hotel is a hotel in Dublin, Ireland, which comprises a block of four terraced houses on Upper Merrion Street, built in the 1760s by Charles Monck, 1st Viscount Monck, for wealthy Irish merchants and nobility. He lived in No. 22, which b ...
in breach of COVID-19 regulations for many members of the political establishment, including Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
In response, many opposition parties accused the appointment as being a product of
cronyism
Cronyism is the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs when appointin ...
. As a result of the controversy, Zappone later declined to take up the role.
In September, Coveney admitted that he had deleted texts from his phone in relation to the Zappone affair. Coveney gave a number of reasons for deleting the texts, including that he had deleted them for more storage space, and for security reasons as his phone had previously been "hacked". Coveney's explanations were criticised by many members of the Dáil, including by members of government coalition members Fianna Fáil. Senator
Catherine Ardagh
Catherine Ardagh (born 20 September 1982) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel since April 2016. She previously served as Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad from 2016 to 2020. ...
of Fianna Fáil stated it "beggars belief that important text messages related to work matters would be deleted" while Fianna Fáil TD
James Lawless said "Modern phones have ample storage without having to frequently delete. I would also question to what extent is there an obligation on those subject to Freedom of Information to retain such information".
On 15 September, upon the return of
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
from a summer recess, a
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
was brought forward by Sinn Féin against Coveney as a direct result of the Zappone appointment and his subsequent handling of the affair in the aftermath of the details becoming public. Regardless, Coveney survived the motion 92 votes to 59 as the government parties enforced the whip on the vote, while Independent TDs generally sided with the government on the vote as well.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment: 2022–present
On 17 December 2022, Coveney was appointed
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment ( ga, An tAire Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
The current Minister for Ent ...
in a cabinet reshuffle after
Leo Varadkar
Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to De ...
's appointment as
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
.
Personal life
Coveney married his long-time girlfriend Ruth Furney, an
IDA Ireland
Industrial Development Agency (IDA Ireland) ( ga, An Ghníomhaireacht Forbartha Tionscail) is the agency responsible for the attraction and retention of inward foreign direct investment
A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in ...
employee, in July 2008. They have three daughters and live in
Carrigaline
Carrigaline () is a town and civil parish in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the River Owenabue. Located about south of Cork city, and with a population of 15,770 people, it is one of the largest commuter towns of the city. The R611 regiona ...
in Cork.
See also
*
Families in the Oireachtas
There is a tradition in Irish politics of having family members succeed each other, frequently in the same parliamentary seat. This article lists families where two or more members of that family have been members ( TD or Senator) of either of th ...
References
External links
*
Simon Coveney's page on the Fine Gael websiteCoveney authored reports on Human Rights in the World*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coveney, Simon
1972 births
Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University
Alumni of University College Cork
Fine Gael MEPs
Fine Gael TDs
Irish farmers
Living people
Members of the 28th Dáil
Members of the 29th Dáil
Members of the 30th Dáil
Members of the 31st Dáil
Members of the 32nd Dáil
Members of the 33rd Dáil
MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2004–2009
Ministers for Agriculture (Ireland)
Ministers for Defence (Ireland)
People educated at Clongowes Wood College
Politicians from County Cork
Ministers for Foreign Affairs (Ireland)
Tánaistí
People educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork
Ministers for Enterprise, Trade and Employment