Seán Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

As the Minister for Foreign Affairs stated, Charlie Haughey was not all hero or all villain and he was not all bad or all good. However, as I read the Moriarty report last night, I was absolutely astounded by the scale and enormity of the payments made between 1979 and the early 1990s. The number of payments and the variety of people who made them are absolutely staggering. Charles Haughey is gone and the reports suggest that in a number of cases the payments influenced actions that were taken. However, it is a tribunal of inquiry and not a court of law.

A huge cloud hung over Charles Haughey during his twilight years when he should have enjoyed days of glory, which is regrettable. At the end of the day, he received in excess of £9 million, which is the equivalent of €45 million today, according to the Taoiseach. It is paradoxical that as a result of these ill gotten moneys, Mr. Haughey only paid €5 million in a tax settlement, which is a relatively small amount. The money he received enabled him to retain and improve his estate in north County Dublin, which expanded significantly during the period in question. At the same time, as I travel around his old constituency, I meet elderly people who point out that he introduced the free travel scheme, provided decent increases in the old age pension and introduced succession rights for women and children. He was also responsible for significant developments in the arts, such as Aosdána, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, as was highlighted during RTE's arts programme last night, as well as the development of Government Buildings, Temple Bar and the IFSC. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs asked, is he all hero or all villain? A balance must be struck in this regard. Deputy Kenny referred to Machiavelli and the princes and an analogy can be drawn between Charles J. Haughey and the princes served by Machiavelli.

The report does not reflect well on the work of the Revenue during this period. The then chief inspector of taxes should be commended for seeking from the Taoiseach of the day his income tax returns from the early 1980s until 1991. The tenacity of the chief inspector — whom I will not name because he still works in Revenue — should be acknowledged. I refer to the issue of tax evasion, which is mentioned in the report. Many people feel it is worthwhile evading tax because if they can invest their money in an enterprise, they can easily afford to pay what they owe when they are caught five or ten years later on the basis of the increase in the value of their assets. I suggest the Minister would put in place a system to ensure some way by which an assessment would be made of the present value of all the moneys, including the gains that are made, rather than the historical value. I commend Mr. Justice Moriarty on the report. Lessons are to be learned and we have much work to do to ensure people think highly of politics, politicians and people in high office. Let us work on that.

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