Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

It is not so long ago that two senior politicians in the State revealed serious abuses in the operation of the State apparatus. One was a member of the Fine Gael Party and the other was a member of the Labour Party. They came under immense pressure at the time to reveal their sources. They continued to resist the pressure and they argued that, first, they would not have access to the information only that the person supplying it felt that it was being transmitted with confidentiality. We are all aware that, subsequently, the tribunal which was set up very much supported the position of those two politicians. One is a Minister today and the other is a Member of the European Parliament. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude because it was their courage and tenacity at that time which brought the abuses to light and also brought a conclusion at the same time. Ironically, around the same time one of the daily newspapers also found itself with legal problems when it was also asked to reveal the sources of its information. That went all the way through the legal process. Members all know the outcome.

There is very much a similarity with Senator Mark Daly's contention today that if information is supplied to a Member of the Oireachtas one would like to think that the person bringing it could feel secure in so doing, because if people do not feel like that is the case it is possible that type of information will not be brought forward. The issues raised on NAMA suggest, if proven correct, that we are dealing with an exceptionally serious situation. We all know the public attitude to NAMA and why it came into existence. The public will be watching the issue very closely. As a House of Parliament we have an opportunity to do like those two politicians did some years ago. I hope we have the courage and foresight to do that.