John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)

At times is seems as if the Flood and Mahon tribunals have been hanging over the political and planning systems for an eternity. The public interest has flagged and is reflected in the attendance at the hearings at Dublin Castle. The Taoiseach has only himself to blame for the circumstances where the Gilmartin module is only now being scrutinised seven years after the tribunal was established. It is an outrageous delay. I am not sure if the Statute of Limitations applies to this tribunal.

The tribunal has been underresourced, particularly when compared to inquiries in other jurisdictions. The tribunal has taken one year, when it sat for only 85 days, to deal with the Burke module. This clearly indicates the level of commitment. The Bill that came before the House yesterday may allow the presiding judge to provide for parallel modules. When will the tribunal finish? It has been an ongoing saga and has been well illustrated in re-enactments on Vincent Browne's radio programme. It has become a comedy of sorts. It is regrettable that this has been allowed to continue in such a manner.

We are indebted to Mr. Justice Flood for his hard work and for bringing to justice the people who hindered his work. It would be regrettable if any decision on costs arising from the Mahon tribunal were overturned on the grounds that it must honour the established practice that the judge who tried the case decides costs. This would be outrageous. Sadly, in spite of the importance of a prompt Government response to this challenge, it is no surprise the Bill that came before us yesterday did so more than six months after the resignation of Mr. Justice Flood and 18 months after the publication of the second interim report of the tribunal.

When one notes that there are only five or six lawyers working full time on this and up to €34 million has been collected by the CAB and the Revenue Commissioners, one will see the tribunal has been self-financing. In the interest of the body politic and regarding the perception of politicians, there is no reason this has been allowed to continue. The regrettable drip, drip nature of the system is like Chinese water torture.

Despite the delays and the bureaucracy, the tribunal's report is proof that the system is worthwhile. It is important that the Government gives more resources to Judge Mahon so that he might take on different modules. It has been seven years since the tribunal was established. The tribunal spent a year dealing with the Ray Burke module and another year dealing with the Century Radio module. Even though modules are effective, when one looks that the manner in which the Hutton and Saville inquiries were dealt with, the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the tribunals will be questioned.

The Government has allowed the cancer of corruption to affect the body politic for too long. While many names have been mentioned and many people have been brought before the inquiry, there has been little action. Barring Mr. Redmond, nobody has gone to jail as a result of this. The extent and level of accommodation Mr. Redmond provided was outrageous. Many iconic moments and images associated with corruption have entered the public mind: blank cheques, brown paper bags and the excellent reconstructions on the Vincent Browne show. However, it has become a subject of comedy throughout the country. The level of debate and re-enactment is enjoyed by many people. We in Fine Gael, along with the Government parties, have allowed everyone involved in politics to be tarred with the same brush.

There is the Ethics in Public Office Act, to which everyone has signed up at council level. I am certain that the welcome legislation with the solid declaration of interest and so on will be very important. I would be disappointed if it were not complied with by all elected councillors and Teachtaí Dála. However, I believe they are complying; it is a strict code of conduct. It is a great honour to be a Member of Dáil Éireann and represent one's constituents in the national Parliament. However, it is equally important that what happened in the 1980s and 1990s be swiftly brought to a conclusion.

The Government's response has been disappointing. There has been a neutering of the Freedom of Information Act 1997 and a refusal to change the culture of secrecy, spin and silence. That is regrettable because the Freedom of Information Act 1997 was an effective tool to see what was going on. I know that Deputy Durkan has spoken on this theme on numerous occasions. It has very much been silenced. Even this week, the Government is intent on rolling through electronic voting, despite the dubious nature of the awarding of the public information campaign to a company headed by a former Fianna Fáil general secretary and rubber-stamped by a ministerial political appointee. All these matters are important. I am not saying that the Minister is not doing his job correctly, but when one sees what is going on in politics and the level of transparency, a cloud is engendered. Whether the aspersions cast are political or created by the media, they exist.

See this speech in context