John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)

The Mahon report's revelation that corruption operated on such a large scale in public life was of little surprise to the majority of people in Ireland. In fact, the many people to whom I have spoken over the past number of days believe the Mahon tribunal only dealt with what floated on the surface and that we will never know the full extent of corruption in Irish political life during those times. It is terrible that some of these people say and believe that all politicians are corrupt. As a councillor and a mayor in my time, I have dealt with many decent and honourable politicians from all parties and they have not been corrupt.

This damning report, which took almost 15 years to conclude, is to me a definition of the greed and corruption of a small group of politicians. The record of their gluttony forms the backdrop to the impoverished life many people live today. The cost of the tribunal and the fact that our jails are not overflowing with corrupt politicians or developers will leave a bitter taste for many people and may cause them to wonder what the tribunal was all about. For me, it is this House that will ultimately determine whether the Mahon report was worth the wait. We are the ones who can opt to shake our heads and condemn the past or be proactive and introduce legislation that will restore people's faith in politics.

One of the first things we should do is to support fully the calls for a change in legislation to allow politicians found guilty of taking bribes to be stripped of their lucrative pensions. The majority of people would back that. If people are found guilty of such practices, the State has the right to ensure they do not receive generous payments. This is only reasonable. These corrupt payments have brought costs on the people. If a constitutional referendum is required to deal in this manner with the people named in the Mahon tribunal, let it be held. Every Deputy should support that if we wish to restore respectability to the body politic. We must ensure that people who have acted corruptly cannot walk away without paying some price.

It is deeply regrettable that Deputies and Senators are not covered by the existing legislation, which is approximately 120 years old. The House needs to move without delay to extend the remit of the Public Bodies Corrupt Practice Act to cover the case of bribery involving current and future Oireachtas Members. This would send a message to the public that we are serious about what we are doing. There is no reason to delay the implementation of such a measure. Any Deputy who has the gall to ask people to fork out €100 for the household charge without first doing everything in his or her power to bring about change to the anti-corruption legislation should hang his or her head in shame. We are talking about an Act that dates back 120 years. People will no longer accept that there can be one rule for one and another for others. If someone has been found guilty of corruption in politics, a price must be paid.

The Mahon report will go down in history as a permanent reminder of the damage that Fianna Fáil has done to this country. The party's pivotal role in planning and corruption has led - through bribes to local councillors, the construction of tens of thousands of houses for which there were no buyers in a sprawl around the country and the 110% mortgages involved in the banking collapse - to economic Armageddon here. The links between Fianna Fáil and the property developers brought about a policy of encouraging property development, to the detriment of other spheres of economic activity, and ultimately to the property bubble from which the fallout now costs the State tens of millions. It is much more expensive to provide infrastructure and services to these homes. More thought should be given to this and to the extra costs which will run to hundreds of millions. In addition, the housing sprawl has encouraged car-dependent commuting, with negative environmental, social and economic effects costing hundreds of millions. This is all a result of the high level of corruption in Irish politics.

Sometimes corruption is seen as a victimless crime. However, that is not the case when we think of the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of people who have been immensely affected because of the cross-party systematic corruption in planning highlighted by the Mahon tribunal. Corruption was not exclusive to Fianna Fáil, although it excelled at it. However, I would like to emphasise that, as I said, I have worked with many good politicians from all parties, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party included, who were not corrupt but who were decent people.

We need a comprehensive policy review to advise on a new system capable of delivering productive outcomes. Even in the hands of the less virtuous, a rational response to the evidence of wholesale corruption in the planning process would involve a fundamental review of the 1963 Act and its numerous successors. We need to do this. I also call on the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to rethink his decision to shut down independent inquiries into local authority planning irregularities. If we are to have any credibility, we must ensure every avenue is investigated in order that we do not face another tribunal in five or ten years time, as that would be the death knell to respect for politics and would lead people to believe all politicians are corrupt.

In the aftermath of the Mahon report, we as elected officials have a grave duty to restore the political system to its rightful functions and respect. Previous tribunals have catalogued the bribery of politicians, but did not lead to the conviction of a single developer or businessman. Many people are outraged by that. There was a public outcry when a succession of Ministers were shown to have benefited from blatantly unethical, if not corrupt, payments. To my knowledge, the three people found guilty by their actions as a result of previous reports - Ray Burke, Frank Dunlop and George Redmond - are still in receipt of generous State pensions. This brings us back to my initial point that we must introduce legislation that will ensure people found corrupt cannot receive those pensions.

To mean anything, the tribunal report must lead to reform in our political and administrative decisions and bring about rules of conduct that work and must be obeyed. In the absence of an effective criminal justice system and penal sanctions, commercial interests will continue to offer bribes. There is no question about this. They will not stop now and if they see a way out and a way to use their influence with politicians, they will do that. They will continue to do this until we bring in proper legislation to stop them. The Mahon report suggested that power given to authorities at the front line of corruption prevention and control should be given the credence it deserves. Simplified complaints procedures, more resources for the Standards in Public Office Commission, a broader definition of donation and the establishment of a planning regulator would go a long way towards restoring the public's confidence. I hope this Government, which has the largest majority in the history of the State, will move quickly to introduce such greater checks and balances. The decision to refer the report to the Garda Commissioner, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Revenue Commissioners and the Standards in Public Office Commission is very welcome. However, there should be speedy action to strengthen the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in tackling corruption. If the Criminal Assets Bureau is to stand for anything, then it must surely have a role in this regard and this option should be closely examined.

In the wake of the report there should be proper trials and prosecutions for those who declared themselves public servants but who in effect undermined the State. Suspended sentences and slaps on the back of the hand will not cut it with the general public. One of the most serious allegations in the report is that several members of the former Cabinet attempted to impede and bring down the tribunal. The fact that members of the Government would attack and attempt to undermine the work of the tribunal of inquiry inquiring into corruption in public life is deeply disturbing. I agree with some of the previous speakers that we need to hear a lot more from Fianna Fáil and, in particular, from their sitting Deputies who were in Government at the time. They have all been pretty quiet about it.

The 1963 Act and its numerous successors must be examined in order to ensure the confidence of the ordinary people. There is a perception that all politicians are at it. I refer to a cartoon in a newspaper last week which showed a person fishing and catching a sprat with the word "corruption" written on it while underneath the water lurked a huge shark captioned, "the others". This is the common perception, rightly or wrongly, and we have an opportunity to change that.

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