Government officials questioned how nominating former Fine Gael minister Phil Hogan to compete for a senior post leading the United Nations food security agency would “benefit” the State, internal emails show.
Documents reveal a plan to back Hogan, a former EU commissioner, in an election to lead the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) stirred tensions between two Government departments.
Hogan was nominated as the State’s candidate in the race to take over as director general of the UN agency, with the Cabinet signing off on this in early March.
The election to fill the director general position will take place next summer, with each of the 193 countries that are members of the UN body holding one vote.
Hogan faces competition as Spain, Italy, Turkey and Angola have each advanced their candidates, with more challengers expected to emerge in the coming months.
Internal emails, seen by The Irish Times, show the Department of Public Expenditure questioned the value of the State nominating someone in the race for the UN role.
“What are the expected benefits for the State associated with this public expenditure?” one official asked colleagues in the Department of Agriculture in an email on February 16th.
Officials wanted to know if a business case had been drawn up, given that two civil servants would be tasked with providing the Republic’s candidate administrative support.
“What will that arrangement involve?” the email stated.
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The Department of Agriculture said securing the international job would “strengthen Ireland’s influence within the United Nations system,” and reinforce the State’s standing as an “effective multilateral actor” on the world stage.
The “practical benefits” of having an Irish person in the role would include “improved access to strategic intelligence,” the department said in a response on February 17th.
The Republic would enjoy “greater input into the development of international standards, and stronger positioning for Irish agri-food interests and expertise”, officials wrote in internal correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Department of Agriculture said a formal business case had not been written for the proposal, but two civil servants assigned to assist Hogan’s campaign will write it and carry out other duties.
The UN agency is based in Rome and the job running it pays a salary of $265,000 (€225,000) a year, plus an extra $50,000 “representation” allowance.
It is understood Hogan had been considering a run for the UN role since about last September.
Records show Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon, a Fine Gael Cabinet member, brought a memo to Cabinet in December on the basis that he saw “merit in considering the possibility of putting forward an Irish candidate” for the UN position.
The Government was very keen to head off possible political backlash and put out an open call at the start of this year.
It emerged publicly at the end of January in a report in The Irish Times that Hogan was seeking the role.
Two candidates interviewed by a panel were “deemed suitable for the Minister’s consideration”, according to internal department notes. Hogan was recommended as the first choice.
Hogan secured the Government’s nomination for the role in early March.
Hogan left politics following the Golfgate controversy of 2020 during the Covid pandemic. His departure followed a backlash for attending a dinner organised by the Oireachtas golf society at a time when pandemic restrictions on large gatherings were in place.
He set up a lucrative political consultancy business, advising JP Morgan, Visa and other clients.
A European has not held the UN position in more than 50 years. And there is a push in Brussels to coalesce behind a single EU candidate rather than split the vote.
Hogan has been visiting EU capitals to lobby other governments for support, as well as travelling to meet delegates at regional FAO conferences, including one in Tajikistan next week.
An earlier timeline had envisaged EU agriculture ministers settling on one candidate by late June, but it is unclear whether the 27 ministers will be pressed into a vote to decide the matter, said two sources.
Spain has nominated its minister for agriculture, Luis Planas, for the role, while Italy has advanced Maurizio Martina, deputy to the current FAO director.
The Hogan camp is said to be confident of support from the 14 governments led by politicians from the European People’s Party, the centre-right grouping that includes Fine Gael.