Fresh blow for Simon Coveney as adviser to join Simon Harris’s team

The move comes after Mr Coveney was stripped of his Fine Gael deputy leader title by Mr Harris in one of his first acts after succeeding Leo Varadkar as party leader.

The new Fine Gael leader appointed Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys as his deputy after securing her support for his leadership bid.

There is widespread speculation within Fine Gael over Mr Coveney’s future at the cabinet table, where he has served as a minister for 13 years.

Now it has emerged that Mr Coveney’s long-time spokesperson Chris Donoghue has signed up to become Government press secretary once Mr Harris is elected Taoiseach on April 9.

Mr Donoghue is a former Newstalk presenter who hosted a popular show with one-time Fine Gael minister Ivan Yates.

He took up the job with Mr Coveney in November 2017 when he was foreign affairs minister and has remained a crucial part of the former Fine Gael deputy leader’s team since then.

Mr Donoghue was involved in Fine Gael’s 2020 general election campaign that saw the party lose 15 seats in the Dáil.

He was also centrally involved in the Government’s Brexit strategy and negotiations, and also served alongside Mr Coveney during the Covid-19 pandemic. As press adviser to Mr Coveney, he became embroiled in the so-called Merrion-gate controversy. This involved a party held by former minister Katherine Zappone in the Merrion Hotel, Dublin, amid Covid-19 regulations.

Mr Donoghue took the unprecedented step of issuing a personal statement after he incorrectly claimed Mr Coveney was not invited to the party, which was attended by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

In 2018, Mr Coveney was also forced to distance himself from comments made by his special adviser about former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

In a Twitter post, Mr Donoghue said the “reintroduction” of Mr Ahern as a “credible instead of a disgraced taoiseach makes me sick”.

The adviser also noted Mr Ahern has never addressed the Mahon Tribunal’s findings against him in the Irish media.

It later emerged that Mr Coveney spoke with and sought advice from Mr Ahern on issues relating to Northern Ireland during his term in office.

Yesterday, the enterprise minister was telling people in Leinster House they “shouldn’t believe everything they hear” when asked if Mr Donoghue was leaving him to join Mr Harris.

When Mr Varadkar made his shock decision to step down as Taoiseach, Mr Coveney announced he would not be standing in a Fine Gael leadership contest. The minister did not publicly endorse Mr Harris, who became party leader after no one else from Fine Gael put their name forward.

Mr Harris is currently establishing his backroom team, which is expected to include his long-time adviser Sarah Bardon and recent appointee Max Murphy.

Former Fine Gael staffers Joanne Lonergan and Majella Fitzpatrick are also being linked with moves to the Taoiseach’s Office after Mr Harris is elected next month.