He was elected to the Dáil again in the 1994 Cork South-Central by-election caused by the resignation of the Progressive Democrats TD Pat Cox.
It was revealed that he had made a telephone call to Bord Gáis asking that his family firm be considered for a state contract.
The next day, 14 March 1998, Coveney died in a fall from a seaside cliff while out walking alone.
His son, Simon Coveney, insisted that his father had never held an Ansbacher account.
[7] His son, Simon, was elected a TD to succeed his father in the resulting by-election on 3 November 1998.