Simon Coveney: Former minister once lobbied by developer Johnny Ronan, now lobbies for him

Former tánaiste Simon Coveney has taken up work lobbying for Johnny Ronan, a decade after he was lobbied by the property developer while serving as minister for housing.Coveney retired from politics after the 2024 election and the 12-month “cooling off” period in which he was not allowed to lobby for clients ended last November.The former Fine Gael TD’s lobbying for Ronan centres on the developer’s plans, with the State-owned Drogheda Port, to build a multibillion-euro deepwater port at Bremore, Co Meath. The proposed port site, comprising agricultural land, is near the M1 motorway north of Balbriggan, Co Dublin.Coveney had stints as minister for defence, minister for agriculture, food and the marine, minister for foreign affairs and minister for housing during a 14-year period after Fine Gael’s return to power in 2011.READ MOREHis lobbying work comes as Ronan makes the case that Bremore is “ideally located” for a new east coast naval base, an initiative mooted in a recent Department of Defence review of maritime security strategy.Ronan (72) has been in business for five decades and is founder of Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE), one of Ireland’s largest property groups. RGRE lobbying returns show Coveney was with Ronan and executives John Ronan jnr and Rory Williams when they met Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris last month for talks “concerning the development of Bremore Port and related ports/infrastructure policy”.A separate filing by Coveney’s new company Waterfront Advisory notes the August 26th meeting with the Fine Gael leader took place “at the Department of Finance” with the aim of keeping the Government “fully informed” about plans to develop Bremore.[ Aughinish Alumina told Simon Coveney that Russian oligarch links were ‘challenging’ for plantOpens in new window ]The maritime security review, published in February, called on the Government to test the “long-term viability of creating a forward operating base for the Naval Service on the east coast”.Three months later, RGRE chief investment officer Aidan Gavin wrote a piece for the Sunday Times saying the Bremore site “offers key operational advantages for national and EU security missions”.Public filings show Coveney was lobbied more than 3,000 times after new rules took force in 2015 requiring lobbyists to publicly declare their engagements with designated public officials such as ministers. These records show Ronan lobbied him in 2016 when he had responsibility for housing, urging him to change planning laws to allow higher apartments at Spencer Dock, Dublin, and consider new financing models for housing.RGRE had no comment on Coveney’s work for the company. Coveney was contacted by phone and email for comment on Thursday but did not reply. The lobbying of Harris comes after a period in which RGRE’s affiliate, Bremore Ireland Port, stepped up its engagements with Government and local authority figures.[ Idea to relocate Dublin Port and use site for housing is dealt major blowOpens in new window ]Bremore Ireland Port declared a meeting last December with Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, talks in November with then minister for finance Paschal Donohoe, and talks in June last year with Helen McEntee, who is now Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence but then held the education brief. The company met senior Meath County Council officials two months ago, one of six engagements with local authority figures since 2023.