Fianna Fáil to debate Haughey motion

The decision to debate a motion wishing former leader Charlie Haughey well at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis is a sign of the party’s maturity, a Government minister claimed today.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin admitted the well-being of the former Taoiseach was an unusual choice for discussion at the party’s annual gathering but said she felt it was the right move.

“It’s one worth asking,” she said.

“It’s a sign of the party’s maturity.”

She added: “It’s an unusual one, you would not usually see it.”

The motion, submitted by the Waterford Ogra organisation, called delegates to support: “That this Ard Fheis sends its best wishes to the former Taoiseach Charles J Haughey.”

Party General Secretary Sean Dorgan said the fact that the motion made it on to the Clar (agenda) proved the open, democratic nature of next weekend’s gathering at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.

Charles J Haughey, 80, was first elected as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1957 and held his seat until retiring in 1992.

He became the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil in 1979 and served three periods as Taoiseach from 1979 to 1981, 1982, and 1987 to 1992.

Mr Haughey was credited with reforming the economy in the late eighties and early nineties, but allegations about financial dealings and corruption have since cast a dark shadow on his political legacy.

Mr Dorgan and Ms Hanafin also said security measures to ensure proper voting practices at this year’s Ard Fheis would be the most stringent ever amid allegations that many delegates voted more than once in previous elections of the party’s National Executive.

Ms Hanafin admitted she was aware of the abuse of the democratic process at previous meetings.

“As long as I’ve been going to the Ard Fheiseanna, which is a very long time, everyone has known that multiple voting was a feature of the election for the National Executive,” she said.

“It’s not a legal business so it’s not as if they were breaking the law or anything and there’s no doubt people were going in, in fact some people made a feature of going in 10 or 15 times to vote, and everybody knew that it was happening.

“But I suppose that as the years went on people started getting more conscious of the importance of positions, the tightness of votes.

“For example, this year there are 11 women running for 10 places, that’s going to be very, very tight, it wouldn’t be fair that somebody should then be elected on the basis that somebody voted a number of times for them so that would be one of the reasons to try to tighten up on that.”

Mr Dorgan said all delegates would be required to produce photographic ID prior to entering polling stations this year and there had been increased security measures in the issuing of tickets.

“I am pretty confident that our operation this year will ensure that the integrity of the voting process will be as it should be,” he added.

The theme of this year’s 63rd Ard Fheis, which will be opened on Friday night by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, is “Unity, Prosperity and Community.”