Minister Simon Coveney is to be called before an Oireachtas committee to answer questions on a champagne party in his department during lockdown in 2020.

The Foreign Affairs Committee has agreed to invite the minister to appear before it when an internal review of the event is complete.

Minister Coveney has previously said he would accept an invitation to appear before the committee if asked.

An image of the event shows department staff celebrating after Ireland winning a seat on the United Nations Security Council in in June 2020.

At least 20 senior officials and staff are seen in the image with no social distancing or mask-wearing.

At the time, strict lockdown rules meant people were not permitted to leave their own county and indoor gatherings of more than seven people were banned.

The picture was tweeted by then-Secretary General of the department Niall Burgess before being swiftly taken down.

On The Hard Shoulder this evening, Foreign Affairs Committee member Senator Gerard Craughwell said he wants Gardai to investigate the matter.

“I make my complaints directly to the [Garda] Commissioner and as a member of the Oireachtas of course I would have written to the commissioner and expressed my concern,” he said.

He said any investigation into the matter should be independent.

“Independent is what we want here,” he said.

“I also have some concerns that maybe the Gardaí should be involved in an investigation here. Was there a law broken? I don’t know but it should certainly be investigated.”

Minister Coveney has asked his new Secretary-General Joe Hackett to carry out an investigation into the gathering with a report expected by the end of the month.

On the show last night, former Transport Minister Shane Ross said it was “not credible at all” to have the department effectively investigating itself.

Reporting from Sean Defoe and Michael Staines