Averil Power (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State for her opening statement. As all Members will agree, the basic foundation of any political system is confidence that decisions are made through the right processes and for the right reasons. The Mahon tribunal's report massively dented that confidence in its over 3,200 pages. It details the most appalling and outrageous betrayal of trust at all levels in the country, from a former Taoiseach and leader of my party who failed to give a truthful account of the source of over £200,000 to a dozen councillors of various parties who took corrupt payments to buy their support for planning proposals. From reading the report, what is most damning, apart from references to the individuals involved, is Mr. Justice Mahon's findings that corruption in Irish political life in the 1980s was systemic and endemic. The individuals involved have a lot to account for, but the problem was much wider than this. There was a culture of seeking and taking bribes to support rezoning proposals. The Mahon tribunal examined particular areas in Dublin for which it had a brief. I have no doubt, however, that questions could be asked elsewhere.

As the Minister of State who has responsibility for housing correctly pointed out, the report displays a culture in which people made decisions on housing developments and condemned families to live in badly planned developments, with poor access to schools and transport. Some people live in places in which there are no paths out of their estates. Decisions were made in order that developers and businessmen could make the maximum profit, with no thought for families who have been condemned to live in such estates.

I will return to the implications of the report for my party. Apart from the individuals concerned, at its most damning level the report reveals that the culture was well known at the time. Mr. Justice Mahon said it was widely known and widely tolerated. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, has outlined how, as a member of Dublin City Council, she had to beat a path through developers to attend council meetings.

The report also reveals that senior politicians, while not found to have taken money, coalesced or, at least, acquiesced in the fact that others did nothing about it, including another former leader of my party. The tribunal made no personal findings against a former leader of Fine Gael. When asked about Councillor Hand's request for a bribe, he said neither Fine Gael nor the world was populated by angels.

From start to finish the report reveals that even those not personally involved in taking bribes were aware that there was such a culture. Fine Gael Councillor Mary Muldoon said after the report was published that it was her view that 50% of the councillors with whom she had served had taken bribes and that she had been punished for the fact that she had not. She said that those on councils who were not trusted at the time were not those who were dishonest but those who were honest because colleagues who were on the take did not trust others and were afraid they might blow the whistle about what was going on.

The Mahon tribunal's report details startling planning corruption at a local level which I appreciate is what today's debate is about. It is also important to briefly make the connection with the Moriarty tribunal's report. The two reports, taken together, show different levels of corruption. The Mahon tribunal's report refers to corruption at a local element, while the Moriarty tribunal's report refers to national politics and the corrupt selection of the winning bid for the most lucrative State contract in Irish history. It reveals in quite startling detail how 15 donations were made to the Minister's party in the lead-up to that contract being awarded. I say that not to make a political point, because that is not where I am coming from on this, but to say the two are just as important. As we talk about the Mahon tribunal report today, it is important we do not lose sight of the points made in the Moriarty report.

I appreciate that while I have mentioned breaches of ethics, trust and basic political standards, other parties have been implicated. To be fair to the Labour Members present, none of that party's members has been mentioned in the report, or while one individual is mentioned, that person left the party a long time ago. The Mahon tribunal report shows that proximity to power was central and the reality is that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors were the ones who had the power over the period and that, in many ways, was accompanied by corruption. While other parties were implicated, there is no doubt, and in any contribution I have made to this House I have accepted, that Fianna Fáil members have been associated with some of the worst breaches of ethics.

The findings of the Mahon tribunal and the other negative findings that have gone before it represent a serious betrayal of the trust that has been put in Fianna Fáil public representatives. It is not only gutting for people who have supported us over the years and genuinely believed those they voted for were honest and would do the right thing, it is particularly gutting for our members, the ordinary volunteers who have never got a penny out of being involved in the party and who have freely given up their time to go out at election time to knock on doors in support of candidates they have thought would make a positive contribution to their communities. While the report refers to a small number of corrupt individuals, I completely accept that the impact for Fianna Fáil is much wider than that, and not just because there are leaders involved. When leaders are either openly involved in taking payments or, as I said, openly acquiesce in the fact that others have, this sends a very negative signal about the organisation. I appreciate, therefore, the shadow the Mahon tribunal report has cast on Fianna Fáil.

This is the case even for younger members like me as well as those like myself in this House who have never taken a corporate donation. While I was never in the Galway tent and was in primary school when most of the things written about in the Mahon report occurred, I still fully accept that many people do not fully trust the party as a whole. I appreciate the challenge that exists, even for younger members of the party, to regain that trust and to show people we deserve it and that Fianna Fáil representatives are honest and decent people. Again, the majority of people involved in the party will never get a penny out of politics. They are honest and decent people who have been let down, although I appreciate we have a job to do to convince people of that.

The Minister talked about some of the changes that have happened over recent years, for example, improvements in the standards in public office legislation, including declaration of donations, the procedures that have been put in place for civil servants and local authority staff and some of the improvements that have been made in the planning process. In the Mahon report, Mr. Justice Mahon accepts that things have changed and ethics requirements have improved a lot over the past 20 years. Huge weaknesses remain, however, which the Minister acknowledged in his contribution today, including the lack of transparency regarding lobbyists, the need for legislation on whistleblowing and the very high threshold that exists at present before donations have to be declared.

When the political funding Bill came through the House, the view of Members on both sides of the House, including myself, was that while donations limits were being lowered, this was not going far enough. A lot of change still needs to happen at national level. I regret that the independent planning inquiries were closed down because, while they are being looked at under a separate process within the Department, independence is important. With regard to corporate donations, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government said in the House his advice was that a referendum would be required to ban corporate donations. This is a matter that should be looked at by the constitutional convention. Equally, while we are looking at donations, the expenditure side also needs to be addressed and I hope it is on the Government's agenda. The reason people raise so much money currently is that they can spend so much money. There is no doubt many changes are needed at national level.

To return to Fianna Fáil, the party in its initial response to the Mahon report was very strong and immediate. In fact, I was criticised on some shows for the fact it was too fast, which I thought extraordinary. It was positive that when the report was published in the morning, by the evening our party leader had made it clear that motions would be brought to expel certain members from the party. I believe Fianna Fáil must go further than that. While I hope changes will be made in national politics in the areas I have mentioned such as donations, lobbying and so on, Fianna Fáil should set the highest standards of all parties. We have already done some of that. At our recent Ard-Fheis, we brought in a motion on new procedures whereby candidates, before they get on the ticket, will have to make declarations to the party about donations similar to those made to the Standards in Public Office - SIPO - Commission. Other changes are needed such as publishing our audited accounts and going further than the SIPO requirements in regard to publishing donations and the like.

The majority of politicians in all parties are genuine and honest people. The Mahon report massively damaged people's faith in politics, which needs to change. I believe Fianna Fáil, given the events outlined in this report and elsewhere, needs to be the standard bearer and needs to set tougher standards than anybody else so it can restore trust in the party.