Mary Lou McDonald hits out at her own committee

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald has criticised a committee she is a member of for failing to probe further claims by a whistleblower about former politicians allegedly evading tax.

The Public Accounts Committee has decided, following legal advice, that it will not review further information provided by Gerry Ryan, a senior official in the Department of Jobs.

Committee members voted against accepting correspondence from the whistle-blower yesterday, saying the issues fell “outside its remit”. “The committee was advised that the receipt of the document carried a degree of risk, which would arise if the correspondence became documents of the committee, thus attracting privilege,” it said.

Mr Ryan claimed a number of former politicians used Ansbacher accounts to evade tax in the 1990s. His claims were repeated by Ms McDonald in the Dáil last year. She named ex-ministers who it was alleged had accounts — an allegation they strenuously deny.

An Oireachtas committee said Ms McDonald had abused Dáil privilege by linking the individuals with offshore account claims.

Ms McDonald yesterday expressed dismay that the PAC refused to receive the correspondence. “It is clear again that the PAC is neither permitted nor prepared to deal with any of the issues at hand.”