Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

What has been revealed in the past week or so is utterly scandalous. It demonstrates deeply-double standards in how ordinary people would be treated if they attempted to get someone else to vote for them and how Deputies feel they can act. It demonstrates contempt for democracy on the Fianna Fáil side of the House, but we also see it in other respects on the Government side of the House, for example, in the abuse of money messages. I thank the Ceann Comhairle and the Clerk of the Dáil for the comprehensive and speedy report.

I will focus on some of the details. Perhaps Deputies Collins and Dooley might answer some of the questions I will pose when they make their personal statements. Bluntly, I do not buy the stories given by Deputy Collins and Deputy Dooley. To summarise, their story is that Deputy Dooley did not realise Deputy Collins was voting for him at any time until he was contacted the following day, while Deputy Collins' story is that he thought Deputy Dooley was at the back of the Chamber making a phone call and that he, therefore, voted for him. There is a real problem with that story from the evidence given to the review, in particular from Deputy Collins. It is related to the fact that there were eight votes on the day and that Deputy Collins only voted for Deputy Dooley in six of the eight votes. Deputy Collins maintains that during the entire time of the eight votes he thought that Deputy Dooley was at the back of the Chamber and felt they had an informal ongoing relationship, whereby because of the fact that Deputy Dooley was at the back of the Chamber meant that Deputy Collins would vote for him. However, he cannot explain why he voted in the first six votes but not in the last two. He was asked about this by Ms Mellissa English who says: "If you thought that Deputy Dooley was there and you didn't look around, why stop?" Deputy Collins said: "I can't give an explanation. It is an obvious question but I can't give an explanation." It seems something important happened between the sixth and seventh votes. Mr. Peter Finnegan asked: "At one stage you took a quick 10 second phone call in the chamber. Can you recall who it was?" Deputy Collins replied, "No". He did not offer to check his phone, as Deputy Dooley did when he was being interviewed about a separate matter. The fact that Deputy Collins voted six times, claimed that he thought that Deputy Dooley was still in Chamber, got a phone call and then stopped has significance. Deputy Collins needs to tell us if the phone call was from Deputy Dooley and if it was about him voting. He needs to provide an explanation as to why he did not vote in votes seven and eight.

Is it a coincidence that the five seats involved - A14, A15, A16, A17 and A18 - are on the front bench or it is related to the fact that the cameras only pick Members up on the first two benches? If someone on the third, fourth or fifth bench was to engage in this practice, it would not be picked up by the cameras, we would not have Votegate and none of us would be any the wiser. Are there Deputies in Fianna Fáil on these benches who have engaged in this practice and not been caught? Is it a widespread, off-camera practice and is it only those who happen to be on camera who are caught?

Many members of the public have asked what benefit was in it for Deputy Dooley. Why would you possibly get someone to vote for you? People often ask whether it is because the Deputy can get the 120-day travel and accommodation allowance. The answer is that would not be a rationale for doing it. The rationale would be to be seen to be voting on issues so one cannot be accused of having a low voting record and that if someone asks how a Deputy voted, he or she is able to say how he or she voted. The question about expenses and the 120 days begs another question. We all know that there is a system of fobbing in order to receive the full allowance that is not subject to any camera check and is even more open to abuse than the voting system. Is it the case that Deputies are getting others to fob in for them to get up to the figure of 120 days because if they are willing or able to get others to vote for them when they are not in the Chamber, why on earth would they not get somebody to fob in for them in order that they can clock in to receive their expenses?

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