Madam, - I agree with David Garrahy (August 29th). The scrutiny of the Taoiseach's labyrinthine financial dealings during his tenure as Minister for Finance was an essential part of the general election debate. It is also a matter of great concern that our present Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, persists in the notion that Mr Ahern's conduct of his affairs was acceptable, even though the Government found it necessary to introduce regulation that would make such behaviour an offence in the future.
To date Mr Ahern has made every effort to delay his appearance before the Mahon tribunal, where he will have the opportunity to end the controversy by furnishing clear explanations. Instead he has chosen to put a series of incomplete and confusing statements into the public domain.
This matter does not bode well for the ethical standards Mr Cowen might demand of his cabinet as a possible future Taoiseach. To ask for sympathy for the Taoiseach under these circumstances is an insult to the intelligence of the electorate which he professes to hold in such high regard. - Yours, etc,
JOSEPH AHERN, Hermitage Close, Dublin 16.