Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The longer we fail to say the Taoiseach cannot be believed the more we damage the high office he holds, demean the profession of politics and increase the cynicism about politics, particularly among young people. Let us be clear across all sides of the House that if we let the current charade continue, politics and political office will suffer as a consequence.

I wish to make a broader point about this shabby affair to the House and beyond it to two groups, in particular, those concerned about the erosion of values in our society and those who see this entire issue as something which does not matter but is politics as usual, they are all the same and it is nothing to do with them. Unlike the parties in government, namely, Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats, I believe it is never right but always wrong to accept private moneys for personal use while wielding public power and holding high public office. When one takes up high public office, one crosses a moral threshold. Yes, one faces the same problems and traumas as the next person. However, unlike the next person, one has power given to one by the people, one holds high public office and, therefore, a higher and better standard applies and must be seen to apply. This is the privilege and the consequence and constrain of holding high office.

I live in the real world. I recognise that there is a permissiveness and relativism, a new cult of "sure-who-gives-a-damn-once-I'm-alright-Jack" which makes the idea of morality something to be laughed at or even to be embarrassed about. As parliamentarians we have a job and duty to rise above it. Call me old-fashioned or behind the times but I believe as Members of this House we need to rehabilitate the word "morality". If we do not lay down the strong foundations of what is acceptable and desirable behaviour in government, the country and society, who will? In terms of the nation who will define and guide our better instincts? Who will lead the debate on what is right and wrong, on being truthful and accountable at all times and on what is acceptable and unacceptable? That debate, for the good of our future and all the people of our island, should include, if not be led by, the Taoiseach. Unfortunately, this is now an impossibility. I do not want the children of this country to grow up where nothing is ever right or wrong, where all kinds of behaviour are tolerated and accepted and where the truth is not respected because everything falls into the cursed, convenient no-man's-land of permissiveness where anything will do because everything goes. I know the Ireland that I want for my children and all the children of this country. What we do about this mess as a Government, as Ministers, as parliamentarians and as a society will go a long way to deciding the kind of Ireland it will be. We cannot underestimate the damage done to politics and the body politic by the Charles Haughey era and the saga concerning Ray Burke and the late Liam Lawlor. We are now at it again. People want to see a Taoiseach with full credibility when he speaks. This is not the case because of the evidence he gave, the statements he made and the tales he told.

At the start of my contribution I stated we should focus on three questions. Was the Taoiseach right to take large sums of money for personal use? My answer is that he was wrong. Did the Taoiseach fully and freely co-operate with the Mahon tribunal? My answer is that he did not. Has the Taoiseach told the truth, the full truth and nothing but the truth to the people, the Dáil and the Mahon tribunal? My answer is that he has not. Taking all of these circumstances into account, I move the motion that Dáil Éireann has no confidence in the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern.

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