Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I have already referred, in response to a number of the Senator's colleagues, to the security issues I must be aware of in my job. I have to factor in that issue in terms of trying to be prudent with how I manage data on my phone. That is what has resulted in me clearing text exchanges that I regard as concluded and over.

In terms of the responses to Katherine Zappone's texts, I have published all exchanges with Katherine Zappone from a text perspective. It looks as if I have not published my responses to her texts. By and large, I did not respond to her texts because I felt that this issue was being managed by the Department and that was the most appropriate place for it to be managed. That is the simple explanation and it is backed up with the documents.