FORMER EU commissioner Pádraig Flynn has become the second high-profile figure to resign from Fianna Fáil just days before what would have been his certain expulsion from the party on foot of a corruption finding by the planning tribunal.
Barely 24 hours after former taoiseach Bertie Ahern disclosed he was resigning from the party, Mr Flynn also wrote to the party yesterday relinquishing his membership.
The Mahon tribunal concluded Mr Flynn had corruptly sought and received a payment of £50,000 from developer Tom Gilmartin in 1989. In his short letter to the party, Mr Flynn reiterated his rejection of the adverse findings against him.
Mr Ahern’s resignation letter was also delivered to the party headquarters in Mount Street, Dublin, yesterday. He had made his decision public on Sunday.
A spokesman confirmed last night the meeting of the Fianna Fáil ard chomhairle will proceed on Friday, notwithstanding the resignation of the two major figures, including a former taoiseach and leader of the party.
Because of the precipitative actions of the two, the motions to expel will not now proceed before the 97-strong national executive, nor will the matter be discussed.
A South Dublin Fianna Fáil county councillor, John Hannon, has also announced his resignation. The tribunal found he received a corrupt payment from lobbyist Frank Dunlop.
Expulsion proceedings over three other party members against whom adverse findings were made by the tribunal will go ahead as planned. They are former TD GV Wright, former senator Don Lydon and former councillor Finbar Hanrahan.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael councillor Anne Devitt has announced she is stepping aside from the party pending the completion of a hearing by the party disciplinary committee.
Ms Devitt – found to have acted “entirely inappropriately” in accepting a payment of £20,000 – said she was stepping aside to protect the integrity of Fine Gael and to have her name cleared of any wrongdoing. “As a councillor, I have always complied with the regulations and standards of the time . . . As far as I am concerned I have acted honourably,” she said.
The Cabinet will discuss the report and its recommendations – which alone run to more than 200 pages – at its meeting today ahead of a three-day debate in the Dáil, which will commence this afternoon.
Speaking in China yesterday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the Government would reflect on the findings and implementation the tribunal’s recommendations.
In his speech in today’s Dáil debate, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin will confirm he will refer the entire report to the party’s internal rules and procedures committee to examine the case of party members against whom less serious findings have been made. It is expected that disciplinary proceeding will also be taken in some cases.
However, there have been calls within Fianna Fáil for stronger and more decisive action on foot of the Mahon report. Lisa Chambers, a vice-president of the party from Mayo, said Mr Ahern’s resignation was no more than a “token gesture”. She and Dublin Central councillor Mary Fitzpatrick called for the expulsion motion to go ahead.
Meanwhile, the board of the party’s youth wing, Ógra Fianna Fáil, also said it would table a motion at Friday’s meeting proposing the expulsion of another former taoiseach, Albert Reynolds.
A request in 1993 from Mr Reynolds while taoiseach for a donation for Fianna Fáil from developer Owen O’Callaghan was found by the inquiry to be inappropriate and an abuse of political power.
“It is hugely regrettable that such action has been forced upon us by past actions, however we feel it necessary to maintain the integrity of Fianna Fáil,” said Ógra president Eamon Quinlan. Party sources said the motion in relation to Mr Reynolds could not be raised without notice and would form no part of the meeting.
Mr Flynn was not available for comment at his home in Castlebar, Co Mayo. Eamon Joyce, a former Fianna Fáil councillor in Castlebar, said his departure was inevitable. “It’s clear he has resigned to avoid the humiliation of being expelled,” he said.
