Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming before the committee. Starting with the day the Minister brought this memo to the Cabinet, he mentioned that a considerable number of memos were put before the Cabinet then. Was that date brought forward for any reason? Why it was on that day that this matter was brought forward? Why wait until the last days of the Dáil to bring this in if conversations had been going on since last summer about this matter? What was the urgency in respect of that day? Surely the Minister could have waited until September? The appointment could also have been brought forward a couple of months beforehand if conversations had been happening early in 2021.

I do not think that it is appropriate for this committee to move on from this issue until a full and detailed timeline has been provided of all communications to do with this appointment, whether that is through FOI requests or not. This committee has a job of work to do and for us to do that properly and effectively we should have been provided with a complete timeline of communications on this issue. The Minister was correct when he said that much has been said on this issue. Many varying and contradictory statements have been put out by members of the Government regarding this matter. That has not been helpful at all. The Minister also said that he did not see this as a big deal, that he saw it as a good news story and that there was no mention of money. Regarding those statements, was the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform contacted about the level of pay that Katherine Zappone would have been receiving? If so, when did that take place?

Does the Minister now accept, understand and relate to the level of hurt and insult caused to many people who are carers in this State or who are in receipt of State pensions by the flippant and throwaway remarks made concerning a nominal salary of €15,000 a year?

That is more than our State pensioners and carers get. I would like to back up a little and ask the Minister to outline the process whereby Article 19, which outlines the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to hold opinions without interference, was chosen? Why was that article from the charter of human rights chosen as opposed to, say, Article 26.2, which focuses on the right to education, or Article 4, which prohibits slavery and servitude and reflects a growing concern globally about human trafficking? What was the background to that? On that same note, does the Minister now accept that this special envoy position, and our standing as a State, has been tainted because of this debacle? The Minister is correct in stating that these positions are well regarded internationally. We have been provided with a list of countries that have special envoys who do similar work. However, the question must be asked as to how many of those special envoys are former Ministers. I imagine the answer is very few.

The Minister said he was not in the country when the Merrion event took place and I accept that. However, he is a Minister who attends Cabinet and this event took place because of a decision he made. What does he say to the partners and husbands throughout this country who have sat outside maternity hospitals while their partners inside have been told that their babies no longer have heartbeats? This shindig took place following a decision he made. Does he accept the anger of owners of businesses and recreational venues that have been closed for an inordinate amount of time? Does he accept the anger of families who have grieved, mourned and watched family funerals online, alone, over the course of this pandemic? If he had not made this decision, that event would not have taken place.