Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

Over the course of the debate there has been considerable looking back at the past with the implication that was then and this is now. However, this phenomenally costly exercise has not done anything other than spell out what we already knew and have known for decades. In one sense that is probably all right, but the real test before the House is what we will do about it now. Will concrete measures be introduced to begin a new era? I do not see any indication that is the case. The examples highlighted by the tribunal were not isolated occurrences. They were probably worst excesses of a system which is intrinsically bound up and influenced by big business as we see in a number of areas. The seamless transition that Ministers of all of the main parties have when they leave this House and take up positions on the boards of multinational companies and so on shows that relationship.

The roots of the present crisis, borne on the shoulders of young couples and families, lie in the findings of the Mahon report and the carry on that was the norm in the past. A few people resigning from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is hardly justice for those crimes, which is what they were in many instances. Obviously there are more Fianna Fáil members named than Fine Gael members, but that probably reflects the fact that Fine Gael was out of power more than Fianna Fáil was and probably had less opportunity to be influenced. The dogs on the street knew that councillors from the right wing parties facilitated this process. They very keenly participated in a system that by a show of councillors' hands turned people into millionaires overnight because of a zoning change on land they owned. It is illustrative of the links between big business funding and political parties.

Even the Labour Party was not immune. I note that the tribunal exonerates and commends the behaviour of the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte. However, even in his case he received cash in his house in November and gave the money back 36 days later. One would have to ask why he was keeping it and why did he accept the cash in the first place. Of course the Labour Party went on to accept many donations from big business and it illustrates that it was seen to be the norm. Such behaviour was seen to be acceptable. Despite what Deputies have said about it here, the dogs on the street knew it was going on. The Christmas after I was first elected to Fingal County Council, I saw one of the members of staff carry in boxes laden down with presents, gifts, drink and so on. I happened to ask who it was for and he informed me it was for certain councillors. He suggested that if I wanted to know who had given it, I could see for myself because I had received a calendar from the same person. Clearly, the people who voted the right way were being rewarded. I suggest they came rather cheap at the price. I recall the election count in Fingal in 2002. Every developer there, including the likes of Gerry Gannon, raised G.V. Wright and other Fianna Fáil Deputies shoulder-high following their election. Mr. Wright had to resign his seat from Fianna Fáil recently. One need only drive around and look at the ownership of sites where billboards appeared during the elections to know where the influence lay.

These people were buying the failure of the State to implement the Kenny report and control the price of building land. The question for the Government is whether it will do something to deal with that situation now. The failure to do so has put a phenomenal burden on the shoulders of ordinary people. The Government could take concrete steps to implement the Kenny report. Decisions on lands for development purposes should be based not on ownership, but on strategic necessity and it should be linked to the control the price of housing. This is absolutely necessary if there is to be any change. This important measure could be taken now.

I do not believe that removing the power from councillors is a solution. I believe there should be more local democracy whereby the population has the right to recall councillors who do not perform their duties or who betray the electorate. Such measures should be extended into the planning process per se. It is not only councillors who have been tainted. I do not for one moment believe that George Redmond was the only corrupt planning council employee. There must be greater measures to ensure transparency on planning decisions and this must involve An Bord Pleanála as well. Ultimately, this is not about individuals or their behaviour, although some of them behaved especially badly. The real challenge is for society. What was the role of the media and the Garda? These questions have not featured enough in the debate. The behaviour and conduct that occurred could not have taken place without the complicity of the media and the Garda.

I pay tribute to Joe MacAnthony, one of the first people who exposed corruption in the State. He broke the first story about Ray Burke in the 1970s, a role recognised 30 years later during the Flood tribunal. However, some 40 years later, almost nothing has been done to deal with this criminal activity. We must ask ourselves why nothing has been done. Clearly, it is because of the private ownership and the influence of the media. When the Sunday Independent was bought by the Fianna Fáil contributor, Tony O'Reilly, the accurate and well-supported stories published by Joe MacAnthony ceased. In essence, he was axed and elbowed out. He was exiled to Canada for revealing the close relationship between the property developers Mr. Brennan and Mr. McGowan and the then Deputy Ray Burke. The journalist produced legal evidence from the Companies Registration Office which showed criminal, corrupt behaviour from Ray Burke. He brought this to the attention of the state forces, the Garda, but no action was taken because Ray Burke was a Minister at the time. Nothing was done about that behaviour. Meanwhile, the man who revealed the story and who carried out the research had his wages cut. He was effectively squeezed out of Independent Newspapers. He had been lined up for a job in RTE, the State broadcaster, but was axed from that contract as well.

What happened to Ray Burke afterwards? He went on to steal further. When he was Minister for Communications, he accepted £30,000 from the Fitzwilton group, owned by Tony O'Reilly, also the owner of the Sunday Independent. That newspaper has continued to play a despicable role in the coverage and history of the State. In essence, there is a golden circle in the country facilitated by many of the stalwarts of the Irish media. The failure to deal with Mr. Burke in the 1970s gave a licence to everyone else to carry on. This failure gave the nod and indicated that this was acceptable behaviour. It confirmed that there was one law for the rich and another for the poor. This type of stance continues to the present day. These double standards remain extant. It has been proven that Anglo Irish Bank broke liquidity laws. That is indisputable. Those involved took part in criminal activity which is liable for a penalty of five years in prison. However, not one of those people have been brought before the courts.

Rather than taking action to deal with criminal activity in the banking sector, the Government and the taxpayer have been asked to support it and to reward those involved by paying off their debts. Those whose shoulders the debt is foisted on, ordinary citizens, PAYE taxpayers and pensioners, are threatened with the courts for refusing to pay an unjust household tax demanded to pay precisely the debts that are a result of criminal behaviour. This is the type of corruption that goes on in this society and if the Government was serious about it, it would deal with it.

The tribunal report also expresses its findings with regard to corporate vehicles and transparency of assets. I have raised this issue on several occasions with the Minister in respect of the role of charitable trusts operating out of the International Financial Services Centre. Essentially, they carry on their business in a tax haven. They are established to defeat transparency. They are set up to facilitate off-balance-sheet operations and shadow share dealings or bond deals. I pose the following question for the Government: how can these trust regulations be allowed to stand? If the Government fails to take action to deal with these trusts, it would be altogether incompatible with the findings of the tribunal. The Minister for Finance must give a public commitment that he will end what Transparency International Ireland refers to as legal corruption of these trusts. Will the Government wait until it becomes the subject of an investigation by the IRS or the UK fraud squad? These are not historical but current issues. The taxpayer has paid hundreds of millions of euro to fund a tribunal into corrupt practices. If the Government is serious, it must make far-reaching decisions with regard to how it conducts itself in terms of business and planning matters throughout the State.

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