Results 1,101-1,120 of 1,028,005 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Ciarán Cuffe OR speaker:John Brady)

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Bertie Ahern: I thank the House for the opportunity to make this statement. A serious and unfounded accusation has been made against me. It is alleged that I delayed the workings of the Mahon tribunal for five years. This is totally untrue, it is a nonsense and, as I said yesterday, it is untrue. The tribunal was established to find the truth about accusations of grave wrongdoing against people in public...

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: That is disgraceful.

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Bertie Ahern: I am happy to continue co-operating with the tribunal and I look forward to the conclusion of its inquiry so that I can get the public vindication to which I am entitled.

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Enda Kenny: I remind the Taoiseach these latest allegations and revelations were made through the media, not the political process. The late Mr. Justice Hamilton remarked if the truth had been provided in reply to more questions in this House, there would be less need for tribunals of inquiry. I find it strange that the Taoiseach never saw the request from the tribunal to the Government secretariat,...

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Bertie Ahern: None of the letters from the various tribunals to the Government secretariat seeking papers, files and diaries regarding a number of events before them have ever been shown to me, on the basis that the tribunals mark them "Strictly Confidential". None of the letters has ever been seen by me. I am not saying the Deputy said anything in this regard and I am not replying to the Deputy but other...

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Enda Kenny: Deputy Ahern is the leader of Fianna Fáil and he is the Taoiseach pro tem. We are addressing much more than the current allegations in the newspapers. We are dealing with how the Government is sacrificing two fundamentals of democracy — public trust and citizen participation — to advance its own political agenda and to achieve its own political ambition. We are addressing how the...

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Noel Treacy: Where's Micky?

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Enda Kenny: Is it not the case that, true to form, the Taoiseach sold his country out when he took my colleague, Deputy Cooper-Flynn, back into the Fianna Fáil fold, with allegations against her outstanding, to shore up his own political ambitions? Is it not the case that, true to form, in doing so, he put Fianna Fáil's private, party political interest ahead of the national interest, which is the...

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

(Interruptions).

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Enda Kenny: They say that politicians talk a lot but say nothing. I am saying something. If people are to have faith in politicians in public life, there must be real accountability and truth on the part of the Government, not mere verbiage uttered by the Taoiseach. We are not canon lawyers parsing phrases, analysing words or debating about angels dancing on pinheads. We are supposed to be legislators...

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Seán Power: Opposition.

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Enda Kenny: ——series of actions and blame everybody for being the same. I have news for the Taoiseach. We are not all the same and we look at politics, truth and ethics in a different light from him and his junior partner.

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

(Interruptions).

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Pat Rabbitte: Although, unusually, I have not seen the Taoiseach's script, he has denied that he delayed the work of the planning tribunal for five years and I am minded to accept that. I think the allegation, though, is transparently nonsense. The Taoiseach says that some in the Opposition have used spurious political smoke to make allegations. I honestly think the Taoiseach is using his share of spurious...

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Pádraic McCormack: They were horse dealers.

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Pat Rabbitte: The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has said he was "aware of the allegations of tax evasion against former Fianna Fáil Minister, Pádraig Flynn, for some time." He mentioned the allegations of tax evasion, not of taking the money. Did the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform discuss this matter with the Taoiseach and, if so, what action did the Taoiseach take as a...

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Seán Ryan: They might be sharing one.

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Micheál Martin: If they can get one.

Mahon Tribunal: Statements. (10 Feb 2004)

Pat Rabbitte: The Taoiseach's decision to respond to the wishes of the House and the people by setting up a tribunal has proved — he could not have had foresight of this — to be the longest political touch-kick in history. It has insulated him from many of the great matters his party has been involved in and concerned with in the past. Six years later we do not know any answers to these questions and...