Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I did not imagine that my maiden speech to this House would be on a matter of such importance to this country. I apologise if my words do not do the gravity of the situation justice. Like many of my colleagues, I stand as a newly elected representative to Dáil Éireann, elected at a time of unprecedented difficulty for this country, from the people's desire for a new direction in public life. I have been trying to figure out what that means for me and for all of us as public representatives. I was trying to understand the expectations people have and then the findings of the Moriarty tribunal were published. I have waded through the report and looked at the background documentation. It does not paint a pretty picture; crony capitalism, improper influence, a lack of accountability, low standards in high places. It is not what public service is meant to be. That is not why we were chosen to be here. The recent election can be understood as a direct reaction to the kind of practices described in the report. We cannot erase the contents of the report or the failings it catalogues. We should not try to. There are important lessons for all of us. We must ensure we take those lessons with us beyond the debate.

I commend the Taoiseach's swift reaction to the publication of the report, on the forwarding of the report to the DPP and the Garda Commissioner, on his clear direction of the recommendations emanating from the tribunal's inquiries, in the prompt scheduling of this important debate and the time allocated to it in this Chamber. I also commend the Taoiseach's statement on the matter yesterday and the ten key commitments to transparency and reform contained within the statement which are also contained within the programme for government and include the commitments recently outlined by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, in the Chamber.

We must extend the principles of open government and honest government throughout the corridors of power. We act for the people. They have a right to know what we do on their behalf and how we do it. Open government is good government. That is one of the reasons I stood in the recent election. With the commitments given by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste we will make a proper start in that direction. There is more that we can do. It was brought to my attention at the weekend that this country has still not ratified the UN Convention against Corruption. We are a signatory state but not a state party. When our country is under such scrutiny internationally, our failure to ratify and become a full state party to such an important convention is embarrassing. It might be seen by others as a lack of proper support for such standards on our part. We must move to rectify that immediately.

It is also time that measures under Article 12 of the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption relating to trading in influence are transposed into domestic law. We are duty bound to do so under our international commitments but we are compelled to do so by the recent election and the necessity to find proper measures against white-collar crime. To protect the objectivity and integrity of the Civil Service we must adopt similar practices to those in the United Kingdom, whereby a senior civil servant can formally and on public record request written ministerial direction when he or she disagrees with a Minister's decision so strongly that he or she refuses to be accountable for it. Such occasions would likely be rare but would serve to indicate to the public where political considerations of the Minister in charge might be contrary to the best interests of the State.

It might also be prudent for us, as elected Members to this House, and as we share a collective responsibility to the people, to examine whether a mechanism may be necessary to allow this House to expel one of its own. We heard from the Taoiseach this morning that this would require a change to the Constitution. That option should be explored.

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