Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

While the House was endeavouring to comment on a culture of corruption and the necessity to break it, the very same Tánaiste who said we do not want single party government in this country was outside the gates of this House undermining another tribunal.

First of all, I believe we should have an opportunity to hear a full statement from the Government about its intentions with regard to the Mahon tribunal. I know that neither the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Brennan, nor the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, can stop this. It was set up by the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform increased fees for lawyers on a number of occasions. The Taoiseach says he wants to go ahead with it; the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government wants it closed down; and the Tanaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Micheál bocht, has his own views on this.

I believe we should have a full statement from the Government. The people are very confused about all these tribunals, but they know one thing. They would like to have the truth, which apparently reaches into the very highest echelons in this country in this day and age. We like to see tribunals do their work expeditiously. A number of judges were appointed. If they are unable to do their work in parallel, that is a problem for the Government. Everybody knows these things cannot run indefinitely, but the truth is central to what we must do to restore some sense of probity and integrity to Irish politics. Will the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, who is a decent man, comment on what are the Government's intentions in respect of the Mahon tribunal?

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