Darragh O’Brien backs Phil Hogan for UN post despite pushing for his resignation amid Covid

Former Fine Gael minister and EU commissioner Phil Hogan is an “excellent candidate” for the post of head of the UN’s food agency, Minister for the Environment Darragh O’Brien has said.

O’Brien, who as Fianna Fáil minister for housing in 2020 called on Hogan to resign his commissioner role over the Golfgate controversy, said that issue was in the past.

“He did the appropriate thing [by resigning]. That’s done,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien and Hogan, who launched his campaign for the job of director general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation last week, greeted each other warmly at a Global Bioeconomy Summit in Dublin on Wednesday, where both were speakers.

Hogan is the official Government candidate for the post, which could see him return to public life for the first time since 2020.

He has worked in private consultancy since his second term as commissioner was cut short by the controversy over his attendance at a golf dinner while Covid-19 travel restrictions were in place.

O’Brien said this took place at “a very different time”.

“Obviously I was in Government at the time so I was involved in that and I am very aware of it, but I think Phil has extensive expertise, extensive knowledge and real skills and he would excel should he be successful,” he said.

“He’s proven his ability over multiple different roles in the commission and within Government, and he’s a person who knows food, knows agriculture and the food security side.

“He is an excellent candidate, and would be excellent in that role should he be successful.

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“I think it would be a very significant statement for Ireland too that he can lead an organisation at global level. He’s of a different political hue than I, but I’ve always been impressed with his work ethic and his track record.”

Asked whether he felt he had the full backing of the Government parties, Hogan replied: “When did I not?”

He said he was “very confident” of his chances of being appointed to the role.

Speaking later to the summit, Hogan said if he got the job, he would seek to improve market access for innovators and entrepreneurs working in agri-food and related industries, particularly among rural communities.

He said the markets needed “clear rules, reliable standards and credible evidence around sustainability”.

[ Phil Hogan insists resignation over Golfgate ‘disproportionate’Opens in new window ]

This would support business opportunities, jobs and local resilience in regions where the economy was dependent on natural resources, he said.

He called on the agri-food sector to support talent in Africa where, he said, many highly educated young people were seeking job opportunities.

He also said a renewed focus was needed on nurturing healthy soils and careful water management as “the foundation of all this”.