It was another bad day for the Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, and for the increasingly precarious Coalition Government. Hardly had Mr Ahern mollified the Tanaiste and leader of the Progressive Democrats on Tuesday night, ail about his involvement in the Philip Sheedy affair and expressing his personal regrets to her over the matter, than the Flood tribunal added to his woes.
Dail exchanges on the Sheedy affair added little to the sum of public knowledge already available. And the decision by former Mr Justice Hugh O'Flaherty not to attend and answer questions before an Oireachtas Committee will probably mean that some of the "Why" questions in the case will never be answered. As for the Taoiseach, he stoutly defended the nature of the political representations he had made in the case. It had always been his intention to make this matter public, Mr Ahern insisted, but a suitable opportunity had not arisen. Criticism from the Opposition benches focused on the conflicting version of events given by Mr Ahern and others and on his failure to inform the Dail. The Opposition delved into the history of the Coalition Government to find a pattern of false statements, evasions and concealments. Destruction of trust between the governing parties would inevitably lead to the collapse of the Coalition, they predicted.
But as the Sheedy case marked time, revelations at the Flood tribunal, which is probing the interface between the construction industry and politics, threatened further tensions and difficulties within Government. The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, detailed the outcome of his 1997 investigations into allegations that former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ray Burke, had received money in connection with planning matters. In doing so, his version of events differed from that reported to the Dail last year by the Taoiseach.
Defending his appointment of Mr Burke as Minister, the Taoiseach advised the Dail last year about Mr Dermot Ahern's investigation and said he was satisfied with the outcome. As a result, he saw no reason why Mr Burke should not serve in the Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrats Government. And he had reassured Ms Harney to that effect. It now transpires that Mr Burke did not receive the clean bill of health suggested by the Taoiseach. Instead, the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs reported that Mr Joseph Murphy jnr had mentioned a payment by Mr Michael Bailey to Mr Burke and to two other Fianna Fail politicians in return for planning favours. There had been talk of buying Mr James Gogarty's silence with a £100,000 payment. And there was conflict over whether a three-hour meeting between Mr Burke, Mr Bailey and the Taoiseach in June, 1997, over allegations of payments to Mr Burke, had taken place. The Flood tribunal was also told that enquiries by the Tanaiste, Ms Mary Harney had produced an allegation, from an executive in Joseph Murphy Structural Engineers, that £60,000 had been paid to Mr Burke.
All of these matters might not have amounted to proof of wrongdoing on the part of Mr Burke. But they surely should have cautioned against his appointment as a government minister. Mr Ahern's judgement and credibility in his handling of this and other recent matters has been called into question. Mr Ahern talks a great deal about the need for political transparency and accountability. But, in recent days, he has not lived up to the high standards expected of his office.