Bertie’s day is done and his foreign minister shouldn’t take us for fools

The Taoiseach has admitted that he accepted money from people, some of which he called “personal political donations”, which is Bertie-speak for pocketing money for his own personal use

SPEAKING on RTÉ’s Questions & Answers during the week, Noel Whelan recognised that Bertie Ahern is in political trouble, though he stopped short of saying his position was untenable.

He said, however, that an amount of wear-and-tear is beginning to appear within the party, and there has also been a degree of collateral damage to those who will have to lead Fianna Fáil after Bertie.

Those who are seeking to defend the indefensible are doing little for their own credibility, and nothing for the credibility of Fianna Fáil.

When it comes to the selection of a new party leader, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern is usually mentioned among the favourites.

Of course, Bertie has already anointed Brian Cowen, but the latter should remember what happened to his former mentor Albert Reynolds. Bertie encouraged him to run for the Presidency and actually voted for him after he had essentially arranged the nomination for Mary MacAleese.

“The only accusation against the Taoiseach is about Mr Gilmartin saying that he was told the Taoiseach got money from Mr O’Callaghan,” Dermot Ahern stressed in answer to journalists this week. “That is the only thing that the Taoiseach really has to answer for. What happens within the Fianna Fáil organisation is not really relevant in that respect.”

Has Dermot Ahern developed such contempt for the intelligence of Irish people that he would think they would be so gullible as to swallow that line. To use the blunt language of Albert Reynolds, that’s “pure crap”.

We have long moved on from the position of unfounded allegations and speculation. The Taoiseach has admitted that he accepted money from people, some of which he called “personal political donations,” which is Bertie-speak for pocketing money for his own personal use.

If it was wrong for Charlie Haughey, Ray Burke and Pádraig Flynn to accept money for their own use, it was just as wrong for Bertie. No amount of imaginative political terminology can justify such behaviour.

Ivor Callely might only have got a paint job, but he got what he deserved for it. Yet he was like a choirboy in comparison.

Bertie Ahern admitted he did not pay tax on some personal political donations.

At least Haughey had the decency to be embarrassed when he was caught. Bertie and company would have us believe it was proper for him to take money for anybody other than Owen O’Callaghan. And they tell us nobody should draw any conclusions about these matters until the tribunal findings are published.

At the same time they say these matters should have nothing to do with the deliberations of the tribunal because there is no link with any money that Owen O’Callaghan allegedly paid Bertie.

Is Dermot Ahern suggesting that the other money should just be forgotten — that there was nothing improper about either that conduct, or not paying tax on so-called personal political donations? When Dermot went on to suggest that “what happens within the Fianna Fáil organisation is not really relevant”, was he saying it should be of no concern to the Irish people that Bertie Ahern’s then girlfriend received £30,000 from Fianna Fáil funds so that she could buy a house for her aunts?

If Bertie wished to help Celia Larkin buy a house for anyone, he should have done so with his own money. He had that much money in the bank. There was no need to “borrow” Fianna Fáil funds.

The way in which Bertie’s defenders have tried to smear others has been particularly vile. They have targeted the tribunal, sections of the media, the opposition, and Tom Gilmartin whom they have depicted as if he were some kind of nut making unfounded allegations against poor Bertie.

Remember Gilmartin came to prominence when Pádraig Flynn ridiculed him on the Late Late Show.

“He’s not well, you know,” Flynn told Gay Byrne. “And his wife’s not well.”

Gilmartin said he gave Flynn £50,000. After first trying to deny it, Flynn had to admit that he took the money, and he had to quit politics.

Gilmartin says Owen O’Callaghan told him he gave Bertie £50,000. Was Gilmartin naive to believe that?

We had testimony in recent days from former FF councillor Seán Gilbride that he took a career break from teaching and the same Owen O’Callaghan donated what amounted to a year’s salary to him.

Colm McGrath, another FF councillor, testified that he got £30,000 by way of a political contribution from O’Callaghan who paid off a further £10,700 through Frank Dunlop that McGrath owed in legal fees, and he got a further £5,000 in four different cash donations through Dunlop.

That came to more than £45,000 that was given to a mere councillor.

Imagine that Tom Gilmartin could be so naive as to think the same O’Callaghan would give £50,000 to the Minister for Finance.

Worse still, Gilmartin was actually so gullible as to believe that Bertie Ahern would accept such money. That’s what Bertie’s people would like us to believe.

When it comes to Gilmartin’s credibility, the issue is not whether O’Callaghan gave Bertie £50,000, but whether O’Callaghan told Gilmartin that he gave that money.

We know Gilmartin paid Flynn £50,000, and we know O’Callaghan actually paid one mere councillor more than £45,000, and paid another the equivalent of a year’s teaching salary.

Eamon Dunphy has testified that O’Callaghan told him Bertie Ahern was “taken care of.” Was it that unrealistic for Gilmartin to believe the same thing in the circumstances?

BERTIE has admitted to receiving an accumulated total of much more from all kinds of people — his mammy, his brother, his friends, and even people who would not classify themselves as friends.

Fianna Fáil hacks are complaining about a supposed media witch-hunt, but they conveniently overlook the behaviour of the Sunday Independent, which has scaled the heights of sycophancy not seen since the Sunday Press used to wax lyrical on the exploits of its owner, Eamon de Valera.

Bertie has some real political accomplishments, especially in relation to the Good Friday Agreement, the development of social partnership, and his personal relations with other leaders, but his supporters’ tactics in trying to defend the indefensible is detracting from his accomplishments.

Ultimately, the way things are going his legacy could well be summed up in two words — good riddance.

Of course, that is politics. Seán Lemass is the only Taoiseach to go before being pushed.

Bertie’s talk about hanging in until 2012 is as unrealistic as Charlie Haughey’s musings about the Chinese leaders carrying on into their 80s.

Bertie is now past his ‘Best Before’ date.