John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I will be brief to avoid going over the ground covered by earlier statements. I am disappointed it took so long to have a debate on the interim report of the Flood tribunal which has been in the public domain for about a month and a half. It is inappropriate that the House is only discussing the report now given that the tribunal was established by both Houses of the Oireachtas. It should have been discussed at an earlier opportunity. I congratulate my colleague, Senator Coghlan, who has pushed to have a debate on the report since this Seanad's first meeting.

I join previous speakers in complimenting Mr. Justice Flood on his interim report which has done the country a great service. I also compliment Mr. Gogarty, the star witness at the tribunal, for doing the country a great service. He is an elderly man who came forward, alone, and called a spade a spade in the face of very strong opponents.

Many speakers argued that nobody could reasonably have foreseen the outcome of the Flood report when Mr. Burke was appointed to Cabinet. The fact is, however, that the reports and rumours surrounding Mr. Burke were in the public domain in the early 1970s, with newspaper reports expressing concerns about rezoning in Dublin as far back as 1972.

Members of the Government have been engaged in much mutual back slapping, almost to the extent of suggesting that the establishment of the Flood tribunal was a Government initiative. The Government was pushed into taking action. It is important to remember that Mr. Burke left office voluntarily, not at the request of the Taoiseach or anybody else.