Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I am sharing time with Deputy Timmy Dooley. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the report published last week by the Mahon tribunal, which has been ongoing since 1997. It has unearthed some very disturbing facts about the heart of high office in this country. The report speaks for itself. Critically important when a report like this is published is that people accept the findings and deal with them in whatever way is appropriate, whether dealing with it as a political party or as the Oireachtas making the recommendations that may flow from any particular tribunal.

The Mahon tribunal is quite clear in its findings. It stated that corruption was endemic in the planning process in the Dublin area and was at the heart of decision making in respect of the zoning of lands. It has exposed that clearly and we must deal with it from that point of view in the Oireachtas, in how we go about introducing legislation based on the tribunal's recommendations so that we can ensure we have appropriate oversight throughout the country in the years ahead. Some of the recommendations of the Mahon tribunal have already been implemented in legislation with regard to governance and funding of political parties and oversight of same. We have a long way to go towards banning corporate donations but legislation should be introduced as quickly as possible to ensure that parties are obliged to accept donations in small amounts only rather than in the corporate donations that were at the heart of many of the difficulties unearthed by the tribunal.

From my party's point of view the report raised very serious issues and we will deal with them in a way appropriate for a political party. More broadly, although the tribunal was established by the Houses of the Oireachtas the debate in this House on its findings has been very partisan. The previous speaker summed this up: the debate has been partisan and is based on attacking a political party rather than looking at the findings, addressing the facts as established and dealing with the recommendations in a meaningful way that will bring back the confidence of the people in public life. This confidence has been completely debased and undermined. The integrity of public office has been undermined and the integrity of politicians of all political parties has also suffered, both as a result of the findings and because of the suspicions that were there prior to the actual findings.

As a Fianna Fáil Member of Dáil Éireann, what I find interesting is that there seems to be a certain standard to which my party must rise in order to ensure we meet our requirements while other parties seem to be able to adjudicate themselves on lower standards. They pat themselves on the back and point out that they are whiter than white, which clearly is not the case. If one looks at the historical context of many of the political parties in this House much of it is very murky, to say the least. I listened to lectures in this House from Deputy Jonathan O'Brien. The man who replaced the Deputy on Cork City Council was convicted by the Special Criminal Court in 1999 for the offence of carrying a loaded gun when he was stopped in Mitchelstown, with two other people. He refused to recognise the court and to this day we have found no explanation as to what he was doing on that fateful morning in Mitchelstown with a loaded gun, heading somewhere in the Republic of Ireland. I know a small bit about guns. One thing for sure is that one does not go duck-hunting with a handgun - one uses a shotgun. That man certainly was not going duck-hunting that morning.

Standards must be maintained by all political parties. Some parties within this House are refusing even to look into themselves and address their problems. Not only Sinn Féin but many other parties have an obligation to look into themselves and deal with the deficiencies in their standards. Let us be clear. The Moriarty tribunal has been ignored. It was whitewashed by this Government. Its findings were stark. They clearly stated that Deputy Lowry, then a Fine Gael Cabinet Minister, delivered a licence to Denis O'Brien. That issue has not been dealt with by anybody on the other side of the House and it is one that deserves scrutiny, not only from Members but also from the fourth estate. I urge that people look at that issue, too.

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