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

I welcome Mr. Fraser. I am not sure if his expression was one of regret or relief at not being invited to Merriongate .

Mr. Fraser said this looks like a big thing in hindsight. That is part of the problem. It is a big thing in hindsight and it was a big thing at the time. Mr. Fraser is a very experienced civil servant but, based on the two occasions the Minister has been before this committee, something is very striking. Let us be adults and not be disingenuous. I quote from the Minister, who stated, "names are not necessarily included as attached to appointments out of fears of leaks or whatever before that Cabinet meeting". It is not a topic I wanted to dwell on but given we have the opportunity, we may draw slightly on the vast experience of Mr. Fraser and his team. He mentioned in his opening address, which we did not get a copy of, that there is a traditional attitude within the Department. While he is moving on to become the UK ambassador and drawing on his vast experience, what impact does he think that traditional attitude has on appointments like this?

In terms of where we go from here, we know there will be further scrutiny of any ambassadorship or envoy from now on because of what happened around the appointment of Katherine Zappone. What recommendations would Mr. Fraser make, based on the experience he has?

Given how the information got into the public domain and how this scenario played out, does Mr. Fraser think we are now less likely to be able to recruit somebody for a job like special envoy?