The Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney will face questions on his appointment of Katherine Zappone as UN Special Envoy when he appears before an Oireachtas Committee later.
The former Children's Minister was offered the role on freedom of opinion and expression last month without it being publicly advertised.
But she turned it down following controversy over her hosting of an outdoor event for 50 people at the Merrion Hotel in Dublin.
Committee member, TD Gary Gannon, says the minister has questions to answer over her appointment.
"Was Catherine Zappone selected, not for her skills and her credentials of which we don't doubt, but was it because she was a friend of Fine Gael and Fine Gael ministers, and this was a essentially quid pro quo for the work that Catherine apparently done for her work in securing Ireland's seat on the UN security council?"
