Burke, Taoiseach and FF indicted, says Quinn

THE Flood Tribunal findings are a damning indictment of Ray Burke, the Taoiseach who appointed him, and the Fianna Fáil party which sustained him in political office, Labour leader Ruairi Quinn said last night.

The comments typified a robust reaction by all the opposition parties which immediately moved to highlight Mr Ahern and his current colleagues' associations with the former minister.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the findings were a searing indictment of Mr Burke's reprehensible behaviour as a public representative, but he also questioned Mr Ahern's role in appointing the former Dublin North TD to high office in the first place: "It raises serious questions about the judgement and motivation of the Taoiseach in appointing Mr Burke to a senior and sensitive Cabinet position at a time when the Taoiseach knew that there were serious allegations against him."