Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution to the debate on the Mahon tribunal or as it is formally known, the Final Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments.

While many people suspected endemic corruption in our planning system during the years under scrutiny by this tribunal, and perhaps even to this day, it was nonetheless shocking for the full nature and extent of it to be laid bare in this final report of the tribunal. It is riveting if depressing reading. It upsets me greatly that elected persons, entrusted by ordinary people, would betray that trust and use their privileged position to enrich themselves and those around them. The Mahon tribunal has done the State considerable service by shining a light on corrupt behaviour in our democratic institutions. For that alone, it was worthwhile. The debate about the cost and length of the tribunal is a legitimate one but for another day.

Given that this report dealt solely with planning matters in Dublin, it is inevitable questions will arise as to whether the same practices and the same standards prevailed elsewhere in the country. I can only speak from my experience as a town and county councillor in County Cork. I have never witnessed corruption and I have not known of anyone to accept a bribe. We would be naive to think, however, that the temptation of easy money in return for political favours did not exist elsewhere. Of course it did and it was not resisted by all. For that reason alone, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, should reinstate the inquiries into the six local authority areas in the manner originally constituted by the previous Government. I know that those inquiries were not dealing with allegations of corruption but changing them from independent, external inquiries to in-house inquiries was the wrong decision and should be changed.

While the report of the tribunal deals with public representatives from several parties, my party, Fianna Fáil lies at the heart of it. That is the harsh reality our leader Deputy Martin, I and my colleagues have had to face up to in recent days. The revelations concerning some former Fianna Fáil public representatives are deplorable. As a young public representative and as someone in politics for the right reasons, I am embarrassed and saddened by the actions of some of those who used the Fianna Fáil label as a vehicle for corrupt personal benefit.

It also saddens me that Bertie Ahern who led our party for 14 years and served as Taoiseach for three terms, a man of considerable achievements, was found not to have given truthful accounts to a tribunal of inquiry established by this House. This is a most serious finding. That is why we as a party have acted decisively since the report was published less than a week ago.

People who have been guilty of any wrongdoing now need to face up to the consequences of their actions. The full rigours of the law must to be applied. There will simply have to be consequences for the people concerned. Page 2,649 of the Mahon report recommends the Prevention of Corruption Act 1889 be extended to cover Oireachtas Members. This change would effectively allow for the politicians found to have been bribed to lose their pensions. The Government must act to immediately implement this recommendation and to examine other ways of updating and strengthening this legislation dealing with politicians found guilty of corruption.

Apart from the obvious public disgrace faced by politicians who have been bribed, there also must be a financial penalty. It is not acceptable that politicians who have been found to have disgracefully abused public office to enrich themselves would continue to receive lucrative pensions from the taxpayer. It will not be possible to rebuild public confidence in politics until ordinary people see there are consequences for politicians who act in this way.

The Fianna Fáil of 2012 is a different party from the Fianna Fáil of previous years. I am not just referring to the obvious difference in size following last year's emphatic general election defeat. There is no place in our party today for people who seek to abuse their positions. We have a long road to travel to rebuild trust with the Irish people. The only way my party can recover is to accept in full all of the past failings and to renew ourselves based on the basic principles of honesty and integrity in everything we do in public life.

I know in my heart that the actions of these politicians do not reflect the character of the members of our party throughout the country nor of the majority of the party's former and current elected members. As a party, we will not allow the actions of a small number of selfish people, some of whom have been found to be corrupt, to hijack our 86-year history, which includes so many notable achievements for the country.

The overwhelming majority of people who have been elected for Fianna Fáil, including those who have served in high office, were honourable and never had their personal integrity called into question. They must be remembered. I do not need to look as far back as Jack Lynch, Seán Lemass or so many others from that generation for inspiration. I can point to honourable people from Fianna Fáil who served this country without a hint of impropriety in recent years, for example, Dr. Rory O'Hanlon, Dr. Michael Woods, the late Brian Lenihan and many others. The qualities they demonstrated in their public duties embody the true spirit of the party.

In time, we will permanently and resolutely detach from Fianna Fáil the stench of corruption that a small number of disgraced former members brought upon us. On issues of ethics, transparency and accountability in our political and financial affairs, we need to go further than other parties to demonstrate our good faith. We will do so. The manner in which we have responded to the tribunal's report is but one small step on that journey.

Public confidence in all things political ebbed away in recent years as tales of corruption emerged, and not just from this report. The truth is that many people believe that most or even all politicians are on the take or are at least only in it for themselves. Everyone who is elected knows this is not true.

We must be honest and admit that the issues that flow through the Mahon tribunal report are far broader than those pertaining to Fianna Fáil. They run to the core of Ireland's political system and political culture. Other parties, in particular Fine Gael, will need to deal with the serious issues that the Mahon report raises for them. Can we really look into our hearts and say politics in this country has changed? There have been great strides in terms of ethics legislation and the regulations governing the funding of political parties and individual politicians. Many of those strides occurred under Fianna Fail. However, my sense is that we have a long distance to travel yet.

Fianna Fáil will do what it must to face up to its challenges, but there are some uncomfortable questions for the parties currently holding the reigns of power. Consider the pattern of big business fund-raising in Fine Gael as highlighted by the Moriarty tribunal. Is there any evidence that the party's reliance on financial support from the corporate sector has changed? Consider the pattern of appointments to public bodies since the Government entered office. Many still appear to be motivated by political patronage. Persons who have been appointed to prestigious public positions are known to have made substantial donations to the Ministers who subsequently appointed them.

Why do all political parties not publish their accounts in full to remove any suspicion that money is still buying political influence? As a body politic, we should go the distance and introduce the maximum possible level of transparency to all aspects of the funding of political parties. The temptations that those exposed in the Mahon and previous tribunals could not resist will inevitably offer themselves to those who find themselves in power. Undoubtedly, the long number of years for which Fianna Fáil was in power contributed to the abandonment of standards among some. Fine Gael, as the largest party in the country and one that could well be in power for many years to come, would do well to remember the following quotation from Lord Acton: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." We need to ensure that controls are put in place so that power, even a prolonged period in power, does not corrupt anyone. This is a collective responsibility, not just one for those in government. I am glad to have had the opportunity to put these points on the record in the wake of the publication of the Mahon report.

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