Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

It is with great pleasure that I have the opportunity to support this motion and to demonstrate my support and the support of my party for the good work being done in Dublin Castle by the Mahon tribunal and, in particular, to demonstrate our revulsion at and to reject the attacks made by Ministers and Government Deputies on the tribunal and the work it has done.

The tribunal was set up to investigate certain planning irregularities that occurred in this city. It is important to understand — we often forget this in these debates — that the planning and other corruption that occurred in the State over the past 20 years has not been a victimless crime. Constituents such as mine spend two hours a day commuting to work on a regular basis. Children in many parishes in my constituency do not have schools to which to go. This is as a direct result of the kind of corruption practised by former Deputies Liam Lawlor and Ray Burke, and various members of the party opposite, and also the kind of activities which were condoned and to which a blind eye was turned by the Taoiseach. That is why it is so important that we have these tribunals. It is not just about accounts and money. It is about how this really impacts on people's lives.

The tribunal, during its investigations, discovered a money trail relating to unusual lodgements to the Taoiseach's accounts. The Taoiseach could not explain — in writing, in private interview or in public session — the source of these lodgements.

This approach — the following of the money trail — is one that was endorsed by the Taoiseach in 1997, where he stated clearly in this Chamber that the Government considers that following the money trail is the most efficient and effective way to progress this type of inquiry. I am pleased that this is exactly what the tribunals are doing.

If the truth be told, the only reason the Members and Ministers opposite have insisted on attacking the tribunal is because the tribunal is getting too close to the truth. It is starting to shine a light into dark corners of Irish politics that have remained obscured to us for the past 20 years and every time there is a bad news day for the Taoiseach in the castle, Ministers are wheeled out, one after another, to attack the tribunal and to move the focus away from the truths that have been revealed there. Minister after Minister, in a campaign orchestrated by the Government press secretary, has come out to tell us that the tribunal has an agenda, that it is biased, that the questions are prurient, prying and personal, that it is a soap opera and, in the case of the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, that it is corrosive cruelty dressed up as a principled inquiry. Last night, we even had one member of the Government parties tell us that it was not even a legal process.

This is a far cry from the Fianna Fáil, and from the principles, that were promised to us in 1997. In his Ard-Fheis speech before he became Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern told us:

Fianna Fáil will enforce a new set of standards for all its members. We will not tolerate any deviation from the benchmarks of honour at local level or in Leinster House, be it in the past, the present or the future. No one — no one — is welcome in this party if they betray the public trust.

Yet no one has betrayed the public trust more than the Taoiseach.

Where do the Ministers stand in this affair? We have Ministers who, essentially, have almost nothing to say about the Taoiseach's activities. All they will speak about is the tribunal. The Tánaiste, Deputy Cowen's only defence of his actions is to claim that he is motivated by loyalty. There was somebody else who was motivated by loyalty, namely the Taoiseach, the man who was Charles Haughey's Chief Whip, bagman and protégé, and who signed his blank cheques. The scale may be different but the principle is the same — somebody using loyalty as an excuse to advance their own political aims, somebody who is too afraid to stand up for what is right because they may not have their ambitions satisfied in due course.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, has nothing to say about the attacks on the tribunals or the injustices that have occurred as a result of this corruption. The Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Mary Hanafin, who is supposed to set an example for young people, stated she does not see anything wrong with somebody receiving large amounts of money in dark rooms for personal use. The Ministers, Deputies Ó Cuív and O'Dea, go out of their way to show how independent and principled they are when it comes to voting against European treaties or to standing up for local interests such as Shannon, taxi drivers or whatever. Where is their independence, their honour and their ability to take a brave stand when it comes to standing up for what is right in our society?

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