Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are now approaching the sixth anniversary of the Taoiseach's occupying his office, if we get that far, but it is also the sixth anniversary of the final report of the Moriarty Tribunal of Inquiry into Payments to Politicians and Related Matters and the fifth anniversary of the final report of the Flood Mahon Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments. On several occasions since these reports were published in 2011 and 2012 I have asked Ministers for Justice and Equality to comment on the status of investigations by An Garda Síochána and possible action by the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, into the findings of Flood Mahon and Moriarty and generally received very brief holding replies or just complete brush-offs. I believe that other Deputies have had similar experiences.

In January 2015, for example the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, said "following the examination of the Garda Síochána of the report of the Moriarty Tribunal, the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions was sought with a view to determining whether or not a full Garda investigation should be commenced". She also said "the Garda authorities have also been engaged in an examination of the Report of the Mahon Tribunal which was referred to the Garda Commissioner by the Government". On 24 March 2015, the Minister replied to my query on whether she had received a report from An Garda Síochána to the questions I had submitted in late 2014. The Minister then said that she was "informed by the Garda authorities that the position in relation to these matters remains the same". A few months later on 26 May 2015, I submitted further questions relating to these investigations and was told that an “examination is ongoing at present” of both tribunal findings.

In the last weeks of the Thirty-first Dáil, on Thursday, 21 January this year, I inquired from the Minister about the resources within the Department, including staff and the budget that she was allocating to follow up on issues raised in the Flood Mahon and Moriarty reports. In her reply, she assured me that "all appropriate resources are available" and that detailed consideration had to be given to "the full suites of recommendations" made by the Moriarty tribunal and to the judgments of the Supreme Court. On 2 November last, I again asked the Minister for Justice and Equality about this and in a follow-up letter she stated:

I am now informed by the Garda authorities that investigations relating to the findings of the Flood and Mahon Tribunals as well as the investigation of certain matters arising from the report of the Moriarty Tribunal are ongoing. I am also advised that relevant liaison is maintained with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

She also said the overriding concern for An Garda Síochána is to ensure these investigations are carried out as "comprehensively and effectively as possible".

After the experience of these two incredibly long tribunals, we are well aware of the limitations on the use of evidence gathered and the impact of various court challenges on their findings.

Is the Taoiseach concerned that a series of parliamentary questions from myself and colleagues has been met with this kind of non-answer? Is he concerned that these questions have never been directly answered? I acknowledge that several of the key recommendations of the Flood, Mahon and Moriarty tribunals on the public funding of politics, the regulation and registration of lobbyists, the protection of whistleblowers and the establishment of a planning regulator have been partially or fully implemented. However, is it not time that the Taoiseach or the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality gave the House a full report on the actions and investigations being taken on foot of the reports of these tribunals, which fundamentally affected the Taoiseach's party and Fianna Fáil?

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