Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh míle maith agat. Happy new year to one and all.

Today, the Taoiseach takes his first Leaders’ Questions and his Cabinet is mired in scandal. The two Deputies at the centre of these scandals - the former Minister of State, Deputy English, and the current Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe - reportedly received a round of applause for their efforts at last night’s meeting of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party. Last week, Deputy English was forced to resign as Minister of State because he lied on a housing planning application. Tens of thousands of people were not able to build a one-off home because, unlike Deputy English, they were honest in filling out their forms. However, he believed those rules did not apply to him.

The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is embroiled in controversy for flouting election donation rules. There has been a concerted attempt by the Minister to trivialise the matter as an administrative error but you and I know it is far more serious than that. The truth is that in the 2016 general election, the Minister received a political donation from a businessman which he failed to declare, and which was above the amount allowable by law. The businessman who provided the donation of a postering service, Michael Stone, at that time headed the Construction Industry Federation, the organisation that represents developers. Mr. Stone was subsequently appointed by Fine Gael to the Land Development Agency outside of the normal process. This demonstrates again how politics work in Ireland. There is a cosy club culture that sees Fine Gael Ministers slip seamlessly out of government and into roles as financial lobbyists, allows vulture funds to run amok, and sees housing policy written for big developers and corporate landlords. Despite his best efforts, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, cannot escape the fact that he broke the rules by receiving this donation. That is why he failed to correct his election return when the matter was brought to his attention as long ago as 2017. It is why he tried to convince members of the media that there was nothing to see here when he was questioned in November. It is why it took the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, writing to the Minister last Friday for him to respond.

Since then, the Minister has concocted a story that has changed so many times that its credibility lies in tatters. The Minister first claimed that the posters were erected at night but images published by the Irish Independentshow workers - I can only assume employees of Mr. Stone’s - in their hard hats, using the company van to put up the Minister's posters in broad daylight, in the middle of their working day. Yet, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, wants everyone to believe that this was not an unlawful political donation to him from a construction company. Nobody believes that story because it is not true.

Bhris an tAire, an Teachta Donohoe, na rialacha nuair a fuair sé an síntiús seo. Tá a scéal dochreidte. Caithfidh sé an fhírinne a insint. This smacks of cronyism and of favours for insiders. It is time for the Minister to come clean.

My questions are straightforward. What involvement has Mr. Stone had in any other Fine Gael election campaigns or in any other campaigns for the Minister, Deputy Donohoe? Can the Taoiseach explain why Mr. Stone was appointed by Fine Gael to the Land Development Agency outside of the normal processes? When did the Taoiseach first learn of this donation? Was it brought to his attention in November when the media first started asking questions? Does the Taoiseach accept that the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, broke the rules when he received this donation?

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