Former European commissioner and Fine Gael minister Phil Hogan is understood to have come through the Department of Agriculture’s selection process as a potential Irish nominee to head the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
However, the Government has not yet decided whether to back Hogan’s bid for the job, though it is understood that the party leaders may discuss the matter as early as next week.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon is due to brief his Cabinet colleagues on the process, which was conducted by his department over recent weeks and is understood to have seen Hogan come through as the preferred nominee.
Government Buildings declined to comment.
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However, several senior sources who discussed the issue in recent days on condition of anonymity said the Coalition was undecided about whether to back Hogan for the role.
EU agriculture ministers discussed the issue in private at a recent meeting in Brussels and resolved to back a single EU candidate for the role. This means the Republic would have to convince other member states to support Hogan in advance of other possible candidates, including the Italian candidate Maurizio Martina, a former agriculture minister, and other potential contenders.
Government sources privately wondered if the State should spend diplomatic and political capital supporting Hogan’s candidacy for the post, though added that no decision had yet been made.
One source noted that the Republic “doesn’t have that many favours to call in right now”, especially after opposing the Mercosur trade deal, which the European Commission has decided to implement provisionally.
The Department of Agriculture had canvassed for potential names the Government could consider nominating as a candidate to be the next director general of the UN agency. The organisation is based in Rome and the role commands a salary of about $265,000 (€224,000) a year.
Hogan has indicated his interest in his name being advanced to contest an election for the post, which will take place next year – with representatives of the 194 states who are members of UN food and agriculture agency each getting one vote.
The role is held by Qu Dongyu, a Chinese politician and administrator, whose four-year term finishes in mid-2027.
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A race to lock in support and votes to take over as his replacement is expected to begin in the coming months as countries’ candidates for the position emerge.
The organisation is tasked with leading efforts to tackle world hunger and improve global food security.
Hogan served as a minister in the Fine Gael-Labour coalition from 2011-14, was European commissioner for agriculture and later EU trade commissioner. He has declined to comment on the role.
He resigned from the commission in 2020 amid fallout from the Golfgate controversy during the Covid-19 pandemic, following a backlash for attending a dinner organised by the Oireachtas golf society at a time when Covid restrictions on large gatherings were in place.
