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

The final report of the Mahon tribunal into certain planning matters and payments, which was published last week, is a tale of deceit and corruption which was 15 years in the making. These 15 years have been condensed into just over 3,200 pages which confirm what many members of the public had believed during that time, namely, that big business and those in high political office conspired to corrupt the planning process at the expense of ordinary citizens.

Since the publication of the Mahon tribunal report I have spoken with many grassroot members of Fianna Fáil, some of whom are personal friends of mine. As Deputy Calleary pointed out, there is no doubt many of them are hurting at the revelations outlined in the Mahon tribunal report. As a political activist, I know the time and effort invested in political parties. They are now questioning what it was all for. They feel betrayed and dismayed by the actions of fellow Fianna Fáil members, whether former taoisigh, Ministers or councillors. They put their faith and trust in them to represent everything they held dear but, as we now know, they abused that trust.

Greedy individuals with no sense of remorse used their positions of influence in Fianna Fáil to line their own pockets with corrupt payments by corrupt developers at the expense of the very communities they were elected to represent. There can be no doubt in anyone's mind following this report that some of the most senior figures in Fianna Fáil were up to their necks in the type of politics which served nobody but themselves. These same people, leading members of Fianna Fáil, were responsible for nurturing, developing and maintaining the brown envelope culture which has existed for far too long in Irish political life. As a politician and Member of the House, I am angry at this. More importantly, as a citizen of the State, I am absolutely sickened by their actions. There is no place in Irish politics for the sleazy dishonest bribery and corruption which prevailed in Fianna Fáil and which a broke political system based on partition helped cultivate. There was no place for it then, there is no place for it now and there is certainly no place for it in the future.

The dog in the street knew the story with brown envelopes, golden circles and political parties such as Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. It is a scandal that it took so long and so much of taxpayers' money for it to come out eventually. The people named in the report disgraced themselves, their families, their party and the State. When it came to the planning process in the State, the old phrase, "it is not what you know but who you know", sprang to mind. With the corrupt local public representatives of the time and those in high office, it was not only about who one knew, but how much cash to take with one. It was not a question of whether they could be corrupted, but at what price. They sold the integrity of politics to whomever they wanted regardless of the consequences for the ordinary hard-working decent people on the island. The citizens had already been shafted by the government of the day which was hell-bent on introducing policies to widen the gap between the haves and the have nots. They did more to embed inequality into the social fabric of Ireland then our colonial neighbours across the water.

From the very bottom to the very top of government, politics was corrupt. Those at the centre of it operated as if they were untouchable. Phrases such as the "Drumcondra mafia" and the "Teflon Taoiseach" would not sound out of place in an episode of "The Sopranos" but sadly they were the people entrusted with the public interest of Irish citizens.

When people asked questions, the political gangsters high on the trappings of power acted with a level of audacity that is nothing short of astonishing. Throughout the duration of the tribunal's workings a serious amount of criticism was directed at its members by the very political elite which had established it in the first place. Rather than defending its integrity, they chose to attack its independence for self-serving reasons. Attempts were made to end the tribunal altogether with concerns for public spending used as a smokescreen to hide naked self-interest and self-preservation.

The report of the Mahon tribunal states that during 2007 and 2008 members of the Cabinet embarked on a sustained attack against it. Some Cabinet members questioned not only the legality of the tribunal, but also the integrity of its members. These attacks came about mainly but not exclusively as a result of the tribunal's inquiries into Bertie Ahern's conduct. Deputy Micheál Martin was a senior member of the Cabinet then and he is now leader of Fianna Fáil. Deputy Martin has a number of questions to answer regarding the conduct and credibility of his party colleagues who are still members of the Dáil and who were Cabinet Ministers at the time. The public has a right to know whether these people, such as Deputies Martin and O'Dea, are willing to share in the collective responsibility that comes with serving in Cabinet, and whether they are willing to take ownership of the attacks on the tribunal. People also have a right to know if these attacks went to the top and were part of an orchestrated campaign at the behest of the disgraced former Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern. If Fianna Fáil could find it within itself to be honest, to put citizens' interests before party interests, to act in the State's interest rather than in its own it could then address this section of the report comprehensively. Deputy Martin had an opportunity to do this yesterday but rather than take responsibility for the actions of a Cabinet in which he served he rounded on every other political party in this Chamber. He was busy pointing out what he believed were Sinn Féin's flaws and failings as if this made what was discovered about Fianna Fáil by the Mahon tribunal any less repulsive.

Rather than lecture others, Deputy Martin should concentrate on getting his own house in order. It is simply not good enough for the leader of Fianna Fáil, a former Cabinet Minister, to say he does not know to whom the tribunal was referring in terms of its attacks on Fianna Fáil's integrity. One needs only to read the media reports from that time to know which Ministers were being referred to. Deputy Willie O'Dea, a man not unknown for attacking the integrity of honest people, had no hesitation in attacking the tribunal with his flippant comments about communion money and half crowns from Mr. Owen O'Callaghan. Just as people did not believe him in 2010, they do not believe his current statement that he did not try to undermine the Mahon tribunal.

Listening to the debate on this report, is it any wonder people have no faith in the political system? For far too long the political elite in this State, including Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party and the defunct Progressive Democrats, fostered a culture of dependency by citizens on politicians. Politician after politician allowed a system to develop which ensured people felt subservient to those in power. Citizens were forced into believing that if they wanted access to their rights they needed the nod and wink of their local councillor or Deputy for that to happen.

People have criticised the cost of the Mahon tribunal. Those who were against its existence were and remain happy to feed into that. Yes, it was lengthy and expensive but it was necessary. It was necessary because of the need to restore faith in the political structures of this State. Getting to the truth should not have cost so much. It is hoped the Director of Public Prosecutions' investigations into those found to have received corrupt payments will not take as long.

The allegation of corruption against former Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, may not have been sustained in the tribunal but Justice Mahon did not hold back when he said he did not believe a word of his contributions to the inquiry. The former Taoiseach now feels hard done by. It is time for him to shut up or put up. If he feels aggrieved by the tribunal's findings he should take up the matter with the courts. He should recount to them the nature of his dealings, the bank accounts he did not have and tales about winning money on the horses. He can spin his untruths and false statements any way he wants to the courts. He should roll the dice and await the outcome. Better still, he should save us all the bother of having to listen to this sorry tale again and jump back into his cupboard, close the door and never reappear again.

The days of politicians believing they can operate like Mafia dons must be over if we are ever to restore public confidence in politics. Hundreds of people across this State are now bunkering down hoping all of this will blow over and that the outrage and anger of the people will be a one week wonder. They believe that if they can avoid scrutiny, wait it out and bide their time, they will then be able to come out from hiding underneath rocks and normal service will resume. The questions that we need to ask are how fundamental a break we want from the Frank Dunlops of this world and how committed are we to confronting and challenging these people and to breaking the golden circles, of which there was never just one, at the intersection of property, capital and elected representatives. The debate and choices before us are bigger than the Mahon tribunal. They are certainly bigger than the grubby little men exposed in this report as corrupt.

What happens in a few weeks when all has been said and done on the Mahon report and politicians have finished their finger wagging and political posturing depends on how we in this Chamber react. The vast majority of elected representatives in this Chamber, from all parties and none, are committed to public service. Corrupt politicians got us into this mess and it is now up to us as politicians to get us out of it. No person or party can turn away from the collective job of cleaning up politics for good. In that spirit, I ask that the Government consider the establishment of an all-party Oireachtas committee, the objective of which will be implementation of the Mahon tribunal recommendations. What better way for us to restore faith in the political system than through Members of all parties and none returning to this House in a few short months with some of the most far-reaching proposals for reform of the political system which this State has ever seen? While that would be a massive challenge rather than a small task it is one which we are up to, one which we will approach with humility and in the spirit of co-operation.

I urge the Taoiseach to look again at the scope and remit of the constitutional convention. The Mahon tribunal has sent out the clear message that our political system is corrupt from the ground up and that the very architecture of the State is crumbling. Trust in the institutions of democracy in Ireland is falling apart. A constitution is a contract between the people and the State. The Constitution of this State has been broken and cannot be repaired. It must be created anew. This Government should seize the opportunity afforded by its decision to hold a constitutional convention to open up a real debate on what the republic envisaged by the men and women of 1916 was about. Let us give all of the people on this island the opportunity to build a new republic, one which cherishes all of the children equally. If we do not grab that opportunity, we will be back here in the future discussing further corruption and other corrupt politicians.

See this speech in context