Tribunal beyond its remit, says PD
Fine Gael said the attack represented a “new low” for the PDs, the party which had been founded partly in reaction to the corruption evident within Fianna Fáil in the 1980s.
Mr Grealish, who has been tipped to join Fianna Fáil should the PDs collapse, said there was an “orchestrated campaign” being conducted against the Taoiseach.
He refused to comment on the Taoiseach’s tax affairs — saying that was a matter for Mr Ahern and the Standards in Public Office Commission — but said he saw no reason for Mr Ahern to step down.
“I don’t think the Taoiseach needs to resign. I don’t think he’s done anything wrong,” he told RTÉ Radio.
Mr Grealish said the PDs, as Fianna Fáil’s partner in government, were content to await the report of the tribunal on the issues involved, but added: “I think it’s going outside the remit that it was set up to do.”
Fine Gael said the PDs had aligned themselves “with the sinister and orchestrated Fianna Fáil campaign to attack” an independent inquiry.
Party spokesman Phil Hogan TD said: “The PDs were founded, in part, in reaction to the low standards of Charles Haughey, which have since been exposed by the McCracken and Moriarty tribunals. It is now clear that they are blind to the low standards perpetuated by his successor and protégé, Bertie Ahern.”
Significantly, however, PD leader Mary Harney refused to support Mr Grealish’s claims about either the orchestrated campaign or the tribunal going outside its remit — indicating Mr Grealish had embarked on a solo run.
