If there's a few basic rules to political activity, surely one of them must be to avoid when attempting to make a political point, diverting attention away from it by getting embroiled in a different issue. But this, remarkably, is what Simon Coveney managed to do this week. Instead of focusing on the Russian naval exercises to the south-west of the island he dragged the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces into the equation by speaking "of his surprise that Lieutenant General Clancy met the Russian Ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, last Friday."

And he now must admit that:

"What I commented on last night - in response to a question - related to the timing of the meeting with the Russian ambassador, and the tweet drawing attention to it," he said.

"I have absolutely no reservations or no questions about his actions," Mr Coveney said, adding that he has been fully briefed by Lieutenant General Clancy.

"I don't think it's welcome that the Chief of Staff has been brought into public commentary and political debate, and I recognise that I have made a contribution to allowing that to happen, and I'd certainly like to correct that this morning," he said.

Quite a contribution too, for this was a response he made at a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting in Leinster House. Though who was it who asked that question?

But why do this in the first place? Why make such a meal of things? Perhaps this will get across the need for politicians to dial down some of the rhetoric around issues like this. Perhaps not.