He will tell committee members that after she stepped down and left politics last summer, Ms Zappone moved to live full time in New York. Katherine Zappone and I spoke now and again as former colleagues do,” he will say. At the end of that meeting, I asked him for his view on whether Katherine Zappone could be of any use to our team in New York. “The department believes this will provide enhanced capacity for high-level engagement on established Irish human rights priority, including the human rights of the LGBTI+ community, civil society space, freedom of the media and freedom of association”. As Foreign Affairs Minister, I made the decision to ask Katherine Zappone if she would consider the role of special envoy,” he will say.

Source: Irish Examiner August 31, 2021 11:03 UTC