Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)

To many, the contents of the Moriarty report will be seen as just another confirmation that politics in this State has been corrupted by shady deals, golden circles and brown envelopes. The report shines yet another spotlight on the cosy relationship between big business and politics. What it reveals is not pretty, even if predictable. In recent days, the findings of the tribunal have been partially obscured under a torrent of misinformation and deliberate distraction and spin, much of it emanating from Deputy Lowry and Denis O'Brien. Let us remind ourselves of the issue. In 1996, the State awarded its second mobile phone licence to a consortium led by Esat-Digifone, a company chaired by Denis O'Brien. At the time, this was an incredibly valuable State asset, seen by many as literally a licence to print money. Within four years, the licence was sold for a profit of €250 million.

The findings of the tribunal are that during the period of competition for the mobile phone licence and subsequent licensing negotiations, from March 1995 to June 1996, Denis O'Brien's companies supported 14 Fine Gael fundraising events. In the same period, Denis O'Brien made a further £50,000 donation to Fine Gael through his partner company Telenor. In the course of the competition and negotiations, the then Minister with responsibility for communications, Deputy Michael Lowry, passed vital information about the licensing process to Mr. O'Brien and used his influence to slant the awards process in favour of Esat Digifone. Within months of the contract being signed with Esat, a six figure sum was transferred from Denis O'Brien to Deputy Lowry through a series of offshore accounts.

The tribunal and its findings have been the subject of a sustained media campaign by Deputy Lowry and Denis O'Brien to point out what in their analysis is the opinionated finding of one man. That will come as no surprise to people outside this Chamber. These are wealthy and powerful men who stand accused of grave wrongdoing. It is not hard to understand why they would deny the charges of political and financial corruption levelled at them by this report. It is much harder to understand why Mr. Justice Moriarty, a reputable judge who has presided over an exhaustive investigation of this matter, would make findings against them without good reason. The Moriarty report has been 14 years in preparation. It is a detailed and lengthy document based on substantial evidence and statements by former Ministers and numerous civil servants. I see no reason we should believe the assertions of Denis O'Brien and Deputy Lowry over those of Mr. Justice Moriarty. Deputy Lowry will get his opportunity to explain the dealings outlined in the Moriarty report later this evening. Following that, the people of this country will make up their minds on who is more credible.

Having said all that, it is important that we do not let ourselves become distracted from the main issue here. At a time when one of our nation's most valuable assets was being sold, a senior member of Fine Gael, its chief fund-raiser, the then Minister with responsibility for communications in a Fine Gael-led Government, stands accused of manipulating the award of said asset, which resulted in personal financial gain. As Deputy Ferris pointed out, Fine Gael wants once again to sell off State assets, which is surely a case of déjÀ vu.

Fine Gael accepted more than a dozen donations from Mr Denis O'Brien and his companies during the period when they were competing for the mobile phone licence. We are talking about a Government Minister enabling a clique of businessmen to enrich themselves massively at the expense of the Irish people. We are talking about the rotten relationship between Irish business and Irish politics; a relationship whose fruits we are seeing today in NAMA, the bank guarantee scheme and the IMF bailout.

Perhaps the most shocking thing about this report is how little the people are shocked. They have seen it all before. Many outside this Chamber suspect we may be here again. In the eyes of many people, Deputy Lowry has taken his place in the rogues' gallery that is already well populated with household names. His mugshot hangs there alongside those of Charles Haughey, Ray Burke, Liam Lawlor and Bertie Ahern. While the public has become accustomed to allegations of undercover payments and dodgy dealings by politicians of the establishment, its attitude has turned from outrage to cynicism.

Politics should be an honourable profession. To represent the Irish people and to be entrusted to take critical decisions about the future of our country should be a proud task and one that should be undertaken with humility, with honesty and with a determination to put the national interest first at all times. Unfortunately, a substantial number of senior politicians saw it otherwise. They saw it as a chance to profit from public office. This is a tragedy not just for Ireland, but for the many decent and honest politicians of all parties who do their best to serve the people who elect them. It is bad for our democracy and it is bad for our country. It erodes people's trust in our institutions, and it makes capable people more reluctant to serve in politics.

The Moriarty report should be taken as a clarion call to make politics honourable again. It should become an historical turning point; the moment when we committed ourselves, as a nation, to root out corruption once and for all, and the moment when we began a comprehensive reform of our political system. We cannot afford to brush it under the carpet. We cannot afford to dismiss it as yesterday's news. The corrupt nexus of business and politics it has uncovered remains in place. There will be more Michael Lowrys, Ray Burkes and Bertie Aherns and more tribunals in future if the Government does not act on the report's findings.

What must be done? People must be held accountable and those with questions to answer - including the Taoiseach - should answer them. There should be no more hiding behind political rhetoric. The Government should move immediately to ban corporate donations and the requirement that only donations over a certain limit need to be declared should be done away with. The Minister for Justice and Law Reform needs to bring forward new legislation on political corruption and white collar crime as a matter of urgency. Stiffer limits should be imposed on spending in elections. The culture of political expenses and ministerial perks must be reformed, and the structural reform of the political system needs to take place.

This House needs to be able to hold the Government properly to account, but we need to go deeper than this. We need to change the culture of Irish politics. The blatant corruption uncovered by the Moriarty report is only the tip of the iceberg. Brown envelopes and offshore accounts feed into a wider culture of political deference to business. Political corruption is not a victimless crime. When powerful businessmen are able to subvert the political process in their own interest, the public interest suffers and real people pay the price. We see the consequences of this in the current economic crisis which has effectively bankrupted this State. We have seen what happens when we run our country according to the calculations scribbled on the back of a brown envelope. Our political system is broken; not just because it is open to corruption, but because it has brought the country to the brink of ruin.

We need to end this political homage to big business. We need to end the culture of favours that has grown out of it. Political decisions must be made openly and transparently. Every Irish citizen must be able to participate in making them. We need a culture of openness, a culture of civic duty, and a culture of patriotism. In essence, we need a culture of real republicanism.

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