Zappone appointment raises more questions

THE decision by Fine Gael to propose former Dublin South West TD Katherine Zappone a special government envoy on ‘freedom of opinion and expression’ without any tendering process or competition, raises more questions than answers.

‘Zappone’ was trending on Twitter on Tuesday night shortly after news broke that Taoiseach Micheál Martin was left “blindsided” by Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney’s proposal to pick a former Children’s Minister who lost her seat in the last General Election, for the role.

The views of the public were less than complimentary in a country long fed up with political shenanigans and draining of taxpayer resources to fund the status quo.

Dublin Mid West TD Emer Higgins went on the Tonight Show to defend the move, telling host Gavan Reilly that it is ‘only a €13,000-€15,000 role’ and “we don’t want to make too much of a mountain out of a molehill.”

Zappone will be paid at a “middle management” level on a pro-rata basis up to a maximum of 60 days a year and is entitled to engage in international travel as part of her role, all paid for by the taxpayer.

However, she already sits on a lucrative ministerial pension, rendering the 15k, a mere top up.

In 2016, Zappone defended reports in the Sunday Times that she stood to earn €80,000 over the next five years from mileage expenses, claiming to live more than 25km from Leinster House.

The paper reported AA’s Route Planner puts the distance from her home at the time in Brittas, at less than 22km.

More damning for survivors of Mother and Baby Home’s, was her refusal to publish the collaborative forum report in full, citing legal advice she could not share due to ‘legal privilege.’

Survivors who spoke to The Echo decried the freedom of speech they were denied and will be among those looking for transparency surrounding the special government envoy on freedom of opinion and expression.