Govt denies bid to intimidate Mahon Tribunal

The Government today denied opposition claims that it is trying to intimidate the Mahon Tribunal just weeks before the Taoiseach gives evidence again.

Bertie Ahern sat in the witness box for four days in September as the public inquiry probed his personal finances while he was Finance Minister in the mid-1990s.

Mr Ahern is due to be grilled by the Tribunal again on December 20 and 21 to answer further questions on his north Dublin home.

The Government aims to enact the Tribunal of Inquiry Bill 2005 which was previously shelved after Fine Gael and Labour opposed it.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny today said he regarded the timing of the re-introduction of the Bill as sinister and claimed it was an attempt to intimidate the Mahon Tribunal before Mr Ahern’s appearance.

But Tánaiste Brian Cowen, who was deputising for the Taoiseach in the Dáil, dismissed the claims as “nonsense” and said the Bill was on the Dail legislative schedule for some time.

The Bill aims to modernise inquiry procedures, reform the fees structure for lawyers and prevent media leaks of confidential documents.

Raising the issue in the Dail, Mr Kenny said: “I regard this move as quite sinister indeed. The Taoiseach has already had four days before the Mahon tribunal and is due to appear again for before Christmas.

He added: “Obviously, a majority of people in the country do not believe his explanations for large cash lodgements to his account and in that sense I regard the moving of this Tribunal Bill, with a possibility of it being able to close down a tribunal, as quite sinister.

“There is a danger that this will be seen as intimidating a tribunal which is looking into the Taoiseach’s personal finances.

“In fact, the legislation was deferred last year so that the tribunal could continue without that threat hanging over it and if it was relevant then, it is even more relevant now. I wonder is it due to mere coincidence or the lack of legislation that five days after the Taoiseach started giving his evidence this Bill was reactivated. The Tánaiste is heading into a hell of a row here.”

Labour deputy leader Joan Burton queried the purpose of the legislation because she said the Mahon Tribunal plans to wind up next year and the Moriarty Tribunal is not holding more public hearings.

She added: “The Bill was originally published in November 2006. We did not hear much about it until the Taoiseach was going before the tribunals and then at that point the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell decided that the Bill was urgent and should be taken.

“Many will see this as essentially a form of potential intimidation to the works of the tribunal in the context of the Taoiseach being due to appear again in the near future.”

Tanaiste Mr Cowen, said the Bill was discussed with the Opposition and had been on the Dáil schedule for some time.

“There was no objection to it being taken next week. The contentions of the Opposition are without foundation.

“The idea that bringing forward amending legislation in respect of a tribunal of inquiries Act that dates back to 1924 should in some way represent a potential intimidation of existing tribunals is nonsense.”