Mr Liam Lawlor TD hopes to "explain" himself to the Dail this afternoon in a speech expected to last between 20 minutes and half an hour. Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday evening from his Dail office, he said he was "writing the speech at the moment".
Asked what the tenor of his address would be and whether he would be apologising to his Dail colleagues, he said there would be an element of apology. "Let's just say I'll be using the time well," he said. "There'll be something for everybody in the audience."
In an interview with RTE, however, he said he would not be resigning as a TD - "under any circumstances". His week in Mountjoy prison had given him time to read transcripts from the tribunal and he apologised about the "manner" in which he addressed "certain matters".
"A lot of issues arose which I didn't predict under the orders. Now, I'll just explain exactly my position. I've always said I wanted to co-operate with the tribunal, but that doesn't seem to be the public perception . . . I never intended to be in contempt."
He said he had taken his punishment and that his family and friends had suffered most as a result of his week in Mountjoy prison.
"I am in the eye of the storm. I am in public life. I have to deal with these matters and will deal with them."
On the issue of whether he had burnt documents relating to his financial affairs, as reported in the Sunday World two weeks ago, he said the matter would be dealt with in the courts.
"That matter, as far as I am concerned, is a very serious matter. We're taking it very seriously, myself and my legal team, and it will be dealt with fully in the fullness of time in the courts."
He said he had nothing to fear from the tribunal's investigations.
"People are going to have to judge that at the end of the process. There is no point in me here giving an interview on the eve of a Dail debate on the matter. This matter will have to be dealt with in the fullness of time in the tribunal. And then the media, my constituents and everybody else can objectively say what they believe was Liam Lawlor's role, his public duties, what decisions he made. Nobody ever offered me a penny and I never asked for a penny for any exercising of my public duties ever."
