What a fine mess in which the Government and the Flood Tribunal find themselves. Mr Justice Feargus Flood has retired as chairman of the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments without determining the issue of costs.
After almost six years as sole member, it would place an undue strain on him, at age 75, to carry that workload any longer. The tribunal estimates that public hearings relating to the current modules of investigation will be completed by the end of 2006. But it continues to receive complaints of alleged corrupt practices in the planning process. Costs of €21.5 million are being claimed by third parties from the tribunal, including some €10.5 million by former Minister, Mr Ray Burke. And, the Government is left to sort out the mess.
The Taoiseach has announced that new legislation will be required to provide a legal basis for a new chairman to adjudicate on the issue of costs. That will be enacted in October. The broader issue of the manner in which future modules or allegations will be disposed of will be decided by the Houses of the Oireachtas. They will consider whether it is "prudent or desirable" to change the terms of reference of the tribunal in view of its duration and costs. And, it appears the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, still entertains the notion that parts of the remaining investigations could be hived off into private hearings. The framework for future inquiries, the Commission of Investigations Bill, will be published next week.
For all of that, the origin of the Flood Tribunal should not be lost sight of in the current controversy. The setting up of the tribunal was politically motivated, coming just after the resignation of Mr Burke from the new Cabinet in late 1997. The tribunal investigated a £30,000 payment by Mr James Gogarty of JMSE to Mr Burke in June, 1989, and found it to be a corrupt payment. The tribunal's terms of reference were extended in 1998 when the payment of £30,000 by Rennicks Manufacturing, on behalf of Fitzwilton, to Mr Burke became known. And the addition of the catch-all clause 5 in the terms of reference has opened the floodgates. Century, Carrickmines, Quarryvale, Mr Frank Dunlop and Mr Tom Gilmartin are just some of the modules.
It is worth remembering that the first tribunal into corruption, by its very nature, had to work on the basis of non-co-operation. All of the facts had to established independently. The tribunal has resulted in the payment of €34.5 million to the Revenue Commissioners and the Criminal Assets Bureau arising from three of its modules of investigation.
Whatever the difficulty and inconvenience, the work of the Flood Tribunal should not be truncated nor thwarted. In the crudest financial terms, it is paying its way. It has lifted the rock on corruption on a massive scale in the planning process. And that, if nothing else, is a powerful inducement to keep others honest. The blame and shame must continue to apply publicly to all.