Editorial: Zappone controversy reveals failure to take transparency seriously at highest levels

Simon Coveney’s casual revelation that his phone was hacked last year carries unflattering implications about the way business is carried out in government circles

Opposition politicians and journalists were rightly interested in seeking transparency around the circumstances of Katherine Zappone’s appointment. Picture: Maxwells

The manner in which Simon Coveney appointed Katherine Zappone to the UN special envoy position could be excused as ineptitude, but the response to the fallout has betrayed something more serious.

The details of who knew what, when they knew it, and who they told will not grasp the public’s interest, but the undercurrent created by convoluted explanations for text messages not being released and the need for a senior minister to continually explain his ...