DÁIL DEBATE:FIANNA FÁIL and Sinn Féin have criticised the Government's proposed format for the Dáil discussion on the Moriarty report on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, claiming it will enable Fine Gael Ministers to evade scrutiny.
A Fianna Fáil spokesman said it was not sufficient for Taoiseach Enda Kenny to be present for the opening statements on Tuesday with the rest of proceedings, including Wednesday’s question and answer session, hosted by Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte.
“Despite all the rhetoric about a new approach to politics . . . what we have seen from the Taoiseach and Fine Gael since this report first emerged is old-style bluster and media management,” the spokesman said.
“There is no reason why Enda Kenny, who was part of the cabinet that rubberstamped this massive decision without adequate examination, could not have dealt with the matter in a straightforward way in the Dáil this week.
“People want to know about any correlation between the highly suspect fundraising activities of Fine Gael and the Cabinet’s decision to forgo even basic scrutiny of the largest-ever commercial decision of an Irish government.
“The idea that a Labour Party Minister will give any clarity on internal Fine Gael affairs is an insult to the electorate’s intelligence,” the spokesman added.
Six members of the Government were in the cabinet when the mobile phone licence was awarded to Esat Digifone in 1996.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams told reporters at Leinster House: “We don’t think that what is planned is a proper debate. There are no Ministers who are going to be open to being questioned apart from Minister Rabbitte.”
He said the report had shown Fine Gael engaged in “money-laundering” and he added the party must account for that.
Rejecting comparisons with the drawing of Westminster expenses reported to be almost £500,000 by five Sinn Féin abstentionist MPs, he said: “We were permitted under the rules of that parliament not to attend, and to employ people in order to represent our constituents. So there’s nothing wrong about that. We did the right thing,” Mr Adams said.
