Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

It is great to see the Government in action at last. It now appears that the prevaricating democrats are in for a penny, in for a pound, with apparently another political hoax in the form of new ethics legislation that makes it all okay. I would like to tell the Taoiseach directly that I hope this will be the last time we must raise these matters in this House. I understand that both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform have issued statements about the close and warm relationship that now exists between them and that they intend to see this Government either run its course or into the sand. Seeing that it is a last gasp effort at propriety by the Progressive Democrats, perhaps the Taoiseach might take the opportunity to tie up the remaining loose ends that must be dealt with here?

In respect of the questions that were not answered by the Taoiseach, does he now share the Tánaiste's assessment in the statement issued by him today that what he did was wrong? The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley, who gave a stooge-like performance for the Progressive Democrats this morning, reluctantly said that in his opinion, the Taoiseach was wrong. In his statement, the Tánaiste said the Taoiseach's actions were wrong. Is the Taoiseach prepared to say that what he did in 1993 was wrong?

Can the Taoiseach give the House any new information used to pacify the Tánaiste about the attention paid to the Manchester payments, people he now knows were present at the function or whom he has discovered were present since last weekend? Will he pass this information to the Mahon tribunal, as he said he would? Some people claim that what took place in Manchester was an illusion and never happened. Given that there were only three possible dates during the period from 1993 to 1994 when the football match in question could have taken place——

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