Kenny faces showdown over $50,000 donation to FG

ENDA KENNY is under intense pressure today to clear-up serious questions surrounding the donation of $50,000 to Fine Gael by the winners of the most lucrative licence awarded in the history of the state.

As the Dáil begins a two-day examination of the Moriarty Tribunal report into the way the 1995 mobile phone contract was won by Esat, the controversial transfer of money to Fine Gael two months after the licence was granted will take centre stage.

Mr Kenny initially refused to be drawn on the donation when the report was published last Tuesday, before admitting a day later that the financial transaction was “wrong” and he regretted the “circuitous” route Fine Gael had taken in returning the money.

Mr Justice Moriarty condemned the way the donation had been handled as “secretive, utterly lacking in transparency, and designed to conceal the fact of such payment, by or on behalf of the donors”.

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar admitted the party had not emerged from the affair “smelling of roses”, and Mr Kenny will have to go further in his explanations to the Dáil, particularly regarding why Fine Gael failed to tell the tribunal about the money until the matter broke in the media in 2001.

The Taoiseach will also need to explain how a middle-ranking minister like Michael Lowry had been able to manipulate the cabinet at the time and stop it questioning his version of events as Communications Minister.

With five members of the present Cabinet having also been ministers in the Rainbow administration, the opposition parties will try to draw parallels between then and now.

Fianna Fáil and independent TDs have already expressed anger at the format of the two-day debate, insisting that Mr Kenny should be made to answer direct questions rather than merely give a statement.

Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte will take one hour of questions for the Government at the end of the debate.

However, the Government also claims Fianna Fáil has questions to answer, such as what was in the deal the last administration concluded with Mr Lowry to secure his support as its majority collapsed.