Charles Haughey and Albert Reynolds both had to weather 'passports for sale' scandals, writes Stephen Collins, Political Editor.
Bertie Ahern's role in obtaining an Irish passport for the wealthy Manchester-based businessman, Norman Turner means he is the third Fianna Fáil taoiseach in a row to become embroiled in a controversy over the issuing of Irish passports.
The passport controversies involving the three are very different in important particulars but it is ironic that, just like Charles Haughey and Albert Reynolds before him, a passport row has descended out of the blue to haunt Bertie Ahern when he was already under enormous pressure.
Haughey was involved in two controversies over the granting of Irish passports to Middle Eastern families under the so-called "passports for sale" scheme. The first involved the securing of an Irish passport for Kamal Fustok, a close relative of a Saudi Arabian diplomat, and other members of his extended family. The former ceann comhairle, Dr John O'Connell, was also involved in pressing the case for the Fustoks.
The Moriarty tribunal investigated the payment of £50,000 by Fustok to Haughey, allegedly for a horse between 1982 and 1990.
In its report the tribunal concluded: "The evidence heard undoubtedly demonstrates a clear pattern of consistent and exceptional support for the applications on the part of Haughey as taoiseach, an unvarying association with both Dr O'Connell and Fustok in respect of all the applications, and a payment of £50,000 made in approximately the middle of that period of years by Fustok to Haughey in a manner that could on no appraisal be viewed as transparent."
Haughey's role in a second passports controversy was not investigated by any of the tribunals. In December 1990, when he was taoiseach and Ray Burke was minister for justice, 11 passports were granted to rich Saudi Arabians for a promised investment of £20 million. The recipients were Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz and his family and friends.
In an unusual procedure, Burke personally authorised the naturalisation certificates at his home in Swords, Co Dublin, late on Saturday, December 8th, 1990, instead of delegating the matter to a senior official as was standard practice.
The internal inquiry conducted by Dermot Cole, an assistant secretary, found that statutory procedures were breached in several cases, including: passports were obtained by the 11 before the necessary naturalisation procedures were completed; and the requirement that applicants should swear an oath of fidelity to the State was waived.
As Fianna Fáil leader, Bertie Ahern initiated three investigations into Burke's role in the affair. This followed discussions with the then minister for justice, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, who expressed her "very serious concerns" about the manner in which the passports were issued and had ordered an internal departmental inquiry.
The issuing of passports was also a major issue when Albert Reynolds was taoiseach.
In June 1994, with the strains already showing between Fianna Fáil and its Labour coalition partners, it emerged that the Reynolds family pet food firm had benefited from a £1 million investment made under the "passports for sale" scheme.
The money came from a Saudi family called Masri and in return they had been granted Irish citizenship.