State files - Bid to rein in Haughey

THE hypocrisy of former taoiseach Charles Haughey is among the more sordid aspects of Irish political life. The sheer duplicity of his infamous admonition that as a people we were “living beyond our means” is unbelievable.

That stricture certainly applied to Mr Haughey himself. Potentially, a brilliant politician, his career was blighted by vanity as he became a kept man, willing to accept money from any wealthy businessman who cared to give it to him.

His princely lifestyle is illustrated by the latest batch of state files from the National Archives showing that within weeks of chastising the Irish people, Government officials were trying in vain to rein-in his profligacy as newly appointed Taoiseach.

Given to wearing silk Charvet shirts and with the ego of a minor potentate, he was characteristically dismissive of official complaints that he was spending more than double his official entertainment allowance on wining and dining visiting dignitaries.

When, for instance, he entertained Roy Jenkins, European Commission president, his department coolly discounted Department of Finance complaints that the lunch cost three times above the official limit, by attributing the excess to “general increases in the cost of catering and to the selection of a menu which was in keeping with the usual standards for such occasions hosted by the Taoiseach”.

As is already known, when he was leader of Fianna Fáil, he received blank cheques from Bertie Ahern, who later succeeded him both as party leader and Taoiseach but subsequently resigned following Tribunal investigations of his financial affairs.

Arguably, the Haughey brand of politics left an indelible mark on the nod-and-wink culture of Fianna Fáil. Undeniably, his mishandling of power contributed in no small way to the troubles of a party that faces being wiped out in the coming general election.