Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

It is important to note that this is a matter for concern. When the Taoiseach contributed in the House on 3 December 1996 regarding the resignation of former Minister, Deputy Lowry, he said:

A Minister's obligations do not cease just because he has resigned. Resignation is not an excuse for going to ground and hoping that the public lose interest. That would be a travesty of accountability. The public are entitled to know the full reasons for his resignation, and why the facts of the case were incompatible with his remaining in office ... Deputy Lowry has a duty to satisfy Dáil Éireann, the supreme authority in the land and the one to which he remains answerable.

The case made by Deputies must be answered and we need an explanation in the public interest about whether the Minister of State resigned or was sacked, whether there was a conspiracy or whether the Minister for State, in his previous capacity, briefed the then Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, on the issue of long-stay charges in public institutions.

See this speech in context