Taoiseach's reaction:Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was silent last night in the face of the Moriarty tribunal findings that he had "facilitated" former taoiseach Charles Haughey's abuse of public funds.
Mr Ahern, who at the time was government chief whip, had co-signed blank cheques drawn on a State allowance given to all party leaders in Dáil Éireann that were then given to Mr Haughey.
Though Mr Ahern had "no reason" to believe the account was operated improperly, his conduct "undoubtedly facilitated the misuse of the account by Mr Haughey," the tribunal found.
"This was a practice which has to be viewed as both inappropriate and imprudent, having regard to the nature of the account [ being one used to administer funds provided from the public purse], the skills and experiences then possessed by Mr Ahern and the absence of any internal or external audit of the account," the report stated.
"This was a matter which was largely accepted by Mr Ahern in his evidence to the tribunal, and it is noteworthy that, at the insistence of Mr Ahern, certain amendments to the law governing the allowance have since been made, which have introduced significant statutory controls in terms of both the application of the allowance and in terms of the accountability to the Public Offices Commission," he said.
In a brief statement that was issued last night, Mr Ahern said the Government would very carefully study the report of the Moriarty Tribunal, which was created in 1997, over coming weeks and months.
Welcoming the publication of the first part of Mr Justice Michael Moriarty's work, Mr Ahern expressed his "appreciation" of the work of the tribunal team.
"While there have been significant measures of reform and safeguards introduced as the tribunal work was in progress, the Taoiseach indicated that the Government would consider the report very carefully over the coming weeks to identify any further initiatives which might be required," a spokesman said on behalf of Mr Ahern.
