Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

We thank Mr. Justice Feargus Flood for his work in the tribunal and wish him well in his retirement. We note the huge amount of work he got through, the interim report, which the Minister praised, and the punctilious, stringent and rigorous way he addressed the issues which came before him. We also thank the members of his team and others who worked with him in producing the interim report. He has done the State a huge service.

I was struck a couple of weeks ago by the sudden flurry of concern about the expense of the tribunal. I do not agree with those sentiments. The tribunal is expensive but it is necessary that it continues. The Houses of the Oireachtas voted to establish the Moriarty and Flood tribunals. I was a member of the Cabinet when the establishment of these tribunals was discussed. Regardless of how long it takes, corruption and evil must be discussed publicly and the people responsible must be brought to book. That is the only way we will get public life back into shape and deal with wrongdoing. There is no doubt that both the Flood and Moriarty tribunals – though we are speaking here about the former – have done an immense amount of work. Let us hope the outcome of it all is a much higher level of probity in those who stand for public office or serve the public good and that they are much more strongly imbued with the proper tenets as they go about their business.