00 29/09/2006 10:36
The end of the affair?

By Harry McGee, Political Editor

THE Progressive Democrats last night warned that they will walk out of Government if Taoiseach Bertie Ahern fails to satisfactorily explain the €10,000 payment he received in Manchester in 1994 next Tuesday.

In a day of extraordinary drama, Mr Ahern was last night in the throes of his worst crisis since becoming Taoiseach nine years ago.

For the first time, his future as Taoiseach was put in clear jeopardy after his comments yesterday on the circumstances of the payment patently failed to satisfy Tánaiste Michael McDowell.

Yesterday afternoon, Mr McDowell said that an interview Mr Ahern gave to reporters in Cavan yesterday had raised “significant matters of concern”.

And crucially, he signalled that the Coalition might not survive if Mr Ahern fails to give a comprehensive explanation of the payment in the Dáil, when the issue is debated next Tuesday.

“Public confidence and the sustainability of the Government requires that these issues be addressed in the time frame that the system within Dáil Éireann allows for,” he said, in a decisive reference to doubts over the tenability of the coalition.

Mr McDowell said Mr Ahern needed to identify:

* Who the donors were, if that can be done?

* What the nature of the event was?

* What the funds were intended for?

* What they were used for?

* Were they a gift, a loan, a political donation or a personal donation?

In his statement the previous night, the Tánaiste had not referred to the Manchester payment, and said that that was a deliberate decision, because not enough facts about it were known. Increasing pressure from the PDs for more information began with deputy leader Liz O’Donnell on RTÉ yesterday morning, but reached crisis point after the intervention by the Tánaiste in late afternoon.

The Government was thrown into crisis following an interview Mr Ahern gave in Cavan about the speaking engagement, involving Irish business people from Manchester and a group from Dublin, including Senator Tony Kett. He defended the payment on the basis that he paid for his own costs, attended in a private capacity, not as a minister, and did not use an official trip. Government sources last night insisted that ministerial guidelines were not breached.

He said that, pre-1999, a payment received abroad of this type and sum, £8,000, was not liable for Irish tax. Neither did he need to declare the sum. He admitted that under the ethics legislation that came into being a year later, he would have had to declare the sum.

But Mr McDowell said the primary issue was not the tax status of the money but “its status in terms of standards and whether it can be defended”.

One of the main difficulties the Taoiseach faces is that he may not be able to identify them.

Mr McDowell said: “The identity of the donors in relation to a significant sum of money is in itself a significant issue.”

A statement issued on behalf of Mr Ahern last night said: “He has no problem answering further questions when the Dáil reconvenes on Tuesday. He will continue to make available all information he has on the matter.”

With the survival of Government now hanging on his performance on Tuesday, the opposition expressed condemnation of the Taoiseach’s acceptance of the payment.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny suggested his position could be untenable.

“If I was in receipt of that payment, I would be gone (as party leader) because the Fine Gael party would not stand for it,” he said.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said a cloud now hung over the Taoiseach. “The first question was what was he doing in Manchester as Minister for Finance. He is telling us now that he can consider himself as a private citizen. We do not know who the donors were. It’s a breach of the ministerial code.”

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said the Taoiseach was now on “his last legs”.

“His actions have brought his office into disrepute.”

Privately, a number of FF TDs said last night that this controversy has badly damaged the Taoiseach and could put question marks over his leadership, even if he survives the crisis.

© Irish Examiner, 2006

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Vorrei farvi notare la differenza tra le due democrazie, quella Italiana e quella Irlandese. In Italia, i primi ministri si fregano milioni su milioni di euro e rimangono in carica indisturbati. In Irlanda, bertie sta rischiando la testa per 10.000 euro.

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