Political ethics - When will they ever learn?

IN THE wake of the BertieGate loans scandal, long-promised legislation on political ethics has at last been published.

But whether it will reach the statute books before the Taoiseach calls next month’s General Election is in doubt.

Effectively, this was the “urgent” sticking plaster to keep Justice Minister Michael McDowell and the PDs in coalition with Fianna Fáil following last year’s controversy over payments to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in the early 1990s.