Mahon Tribunal leaves former Taoiseach in trouble | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Mahon Tribunal leaves former Taoiseach in trouble

By Mark McGahon

Yesterday saw the publication of the final report of the Mahon tribunal, dealing with allegations of corrupt payments to politicians. Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern finds himself at the centre of the fallout from the report as it refuses to believe his myriad explanations about the sources of money received.

The report is being passed to the Director for Public Prosecutions and it seems increasingly likely that Bertie Ahern will be expelled from Fianna Fail. They will meet to discuss what disciplinary action should be taken, with their leader Miceal Martin insisting that they would act ‘without fear or favour’.

The leaders of other parties have also offered opinions on the results: current Taoiseach Enda Kenny expressed dismay at how Bertie Ahern tarnished the office of Taoiseach; Joe Higgins echoed the language of the report in calling it “a damning indictment of the corrupt nexus between developers and establishment politicians, especially Fianna Fail”.

On a similar note, the way in which corruption is investigated has come under fire by Transparency International Ireland. The group found fault with the length of time the report took to be published and the cost to the taxpayer, arguing for a reform of how corruption is investigated: “It took 15 years and some €300 million to find out what the Gardai and Standards in Public Office Commission should have exposed”.

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=9176

Posted by on Mar 24 2012. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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