Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

The endemic corruption exposed and outlined in the Mahon tribunal final report is shocking, showing that public representatives at different ranks truly betrayed the trust of the people. People engaging in corrupt practices have no role in public life and must be held accountable for their actions. Immediately in the aftermath of the publication of the report, the Fianna Fáil Party leader, Deputy Martin, stated clearly and without equivocation the party accepts the findings of the tribunal and condemns the individuals who, as representatives of our party, betrayed the public trust that had been placed in them by the electorate. Immediately moves were initiated to take action against those who behaved in a disgraceful manner. It upsets and sickens me that people could engage in such behaviour. The behaviour of several public representatives in the 1980s and early 1990s is deplorable. It has been stated already that the report found a number of public representatives from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and one Labour councillor had undermined the planning process in Dublin with corrupted decisions.

With electoral success, Bertie Ahern had the trust of the people placed in him and the trust of the party by electing him to high office. Of course people of whatever rank in public life cannot betray the trust of the people. It was absolutely wrong and totally inappropriate for Pádraig Flynn to accept that cheque from Mr. Gilmartin. Such behaviour was a disgrace. While the central allegation against Bertie Ahern was not sustained, the evidence confirmed by the tribunal, and comments relating to him, are extremely serious. It is clear the receipt by a senior officeholder of large amounts of money, which a sworn tribunal has held is of unclear origin, and the failure to give any credible explanation, requires an unequivocal response.

In proposing the motion of expulsion of several members of Fianna Fáil, including a former leader, Deputy Martin stated the outstanding achievements, such as the Good Friday Agreement, which are of significant importance to all of our people and island, do not absolve Bertie Ahern from facing the implications of this report. At the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis recently, the party leader stated he would act swiftly and definitively on the findings of the Mahon tribunal report, irrespective of how tough the findings were. He has done so. This is unlike the approach which Fine Gael and Labour followed in ignoring the evidence and criticisms levelled in the Moriarty tribunal report.

Fianna Fáil rank-and-file members across the country, as Deputy McGuinness said, are furious that some public representatives abused their positions for personal gain. They have been hurt by the damage done to a party of whose traditions they are rightly proud. Those traditions and the party's work for this country have been undermined by the actions of a small number of people.

I have had the privilege of being elected to Dáil Éireann five successive times and am the third member of my family to have served in public office. I appreciate the trust that the electorate of Cavan-Monaghan have placed in me each of those times. Neither I nor anyone in the House or public life takes that for granted. We work diligently, hard and honestly to represent our constituents to the best of our ability and to retain their trust. This goes for the overwhelming majority of all public representatives, be they at local authority level or Members of the Oireachtas.

On an ongoing basis, I depend on the support of my local public representatives and our organisation. The people who support and work on behalf of our party at cumann, comhairle cheantair and comhairle Dáil cheantair level do so out of a genuine commitment to their local communities. They do not seek any personal gain. They are available to help out with ongoing political work and are called upon at election time to make a considerable effort without reward and at a cost to themselves. Understandably, they have been hurt and angered by the behaviour of a small number of people within the Fianna Fáil Party.

It does not take a political scientist to analyse why our support declined so much in the Dublin area, as shown in successive local authority elections. It was in the early 1990s that our former party colleague, Michael Smith as the Minister for the Environment, stated that planning in Dublin had become a debased or devalued currency. He set about dealing with those issues. It is now clear why Dublin County Council was split into a number of authorities. The actions of a number of Dublin councillors subverted the democratic system and significantly betrayed the trust of the electorate.

From 1997 on, the Fianna Fáil Party in government introduced a comprehensive series of measures to ensure the maintenance in public office of the highest ethical standards. With the support of all sides of the House, planning laws have been strengthened and reformed to reduce the potential for corruption.

I appeal to the Government to implement the Mahon tribunal report's sensible and practical recommendations at the earliest possible date. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, are familiar with the local government system and know how essential it is that the system's reform be done right. I disagree with Deputy Catherine Murphy's opinion that county structures are outdated. Each of us has a large attachment to county structures, boundaries and so on. Regional planning guidelines on which county development plans are based have been put in place. I appeal to the Minister of State and the Minister to carry out a consultative process so that we can get the reform of local authorities right. The role of councillors is of the utmost importance in this respect. When they are first elected, they must be given good training and their responsibilities and powers must be outlined to them. All wisdom does not reside in officialdom.

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