Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

The third interim report of the Flood tribunal, now known as the Mahon tribunal, was an indictment of the rampant corruption that existed in the area of planning and development in the Dublin region. As the report deals specifically with Dublin, I will discuss the consequences of corruption for the larger Dublin area. My comments are in sympathy with the victims of George Redmond — those citizens who continue to suffer because an official put his own greed ahead of the welfare of citizens. The legacy of George Redmond and his cohorts is the vast estates, lacking in both infrastructure and amenities, which sprawl across the western and northern edges of the city as a direct result of the corruption which led to bad planning. These estates are plagued by many social problems. Large estates were built with no amenities or outlets for young people. The human cost of this cannot be calculated, nor can the cost to the taxpayer. The people who continue to suffer because of the actions of Mr. Redmond, Mr. Lawlor and others cannot be ignored. Corrupt officials such as George Redmond made large personal fortunes on the back of the misery of ordinary citizens, who continue to suffer to this day from decisions that were taken in the past.

It is more disgraceful still that the actions of Mr. Redmond and others were well known within the political establishment, yet nothing was done. This fact is being ignored by the present coalition. The Government must take action as a matter of urgency. It must improve conditions for people who live in these estates and make funding available to ensure proper facilities and amenities are now put in place. It must also address the loss suffered by these communities over the last decades as a consequence of the actions of Mr. Redmond and the inaction of the political establishment.

The role played by the endemic corruption of the last 30 years in the current housing crisis cannot be ignored. Corruption has had consequences such as driving up house prices through deliberate sleight of hand. Liam Lawlor used bribery to change the address of a development so that a builder could charge and extra €5,000 per house. There are land-holding and rezoning decisions which have never been addressed by any Government. People made fortunes as a result of inside information and corrupt politicians got away with it. The list of those who have appeared and are due to appear at the Flood and Mahon tribunals is a testament to the extensive nature of the corruption in this State. If this Fianna Fáil-PD Government is sincere and wants to show us it has moved away from the corruption of the past, it must prioritise addressing the social consequences of that corruption. They must prioritise resolving the housing crisis.

I reiterate a request made by my party and me when the first interim report of the Flood tribunal was debated here. At that time I suggested that in view of the role played by the former Minister, Ray Burke, in planning corruption, the remit of the tribunal should be extended to cover all of Mr. Burke's activities, particularly those undertaken when he was a Minister. As Minister, he changed the licensing terms governing oil and gas exploration in 1987. This was a disgraceful U-turn. The terms of the fiscal regime that governs this area have often been questioned in light of the scandalous give-away of our natural resources. They were sold off to multinationals. Given that this radical change took place at a time when Mr. Burke was, as it were, active in the planning process, it is only right that his role in this extraordinary change in the island's gas regime should also be examined.

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