Ahern’s bad leadership must end

The Taoiseach has not been accused of any tax offence nor did he have a car accident while driving under the influence of alcohol, so he should not be blamed for the reckless behaviour of either Michael Collins or GV Wright.

But as leader of Fianna Fáil he is responsible for the direction of the party and the way that both affairs have been mishandled politically.

Firstly, in relation to GV Wright, Mr Ahern said that the injury to the unfortunate victim, Anne Butler, was “the most serious matter of all”.

But the behaviour of Fianna Fáil seems to indicate something very different.

Mr Wright apologised to the Taoiseach and the party for the trouble he has caused, but he never bothered to apologise to Ms Butler, the woman he ran down and whose leg he shattered.

She only learned who was responsible as a result of reports in the media. This would suggest the injuries to Ms Butler were only a secondary consideration, at best.

Fianna Fáil was primarily concerned with the exposure of an accident which was caused by a party deputy driving after drinking too much.

That message was re-enforced by the Taoiseach’s behaviour in relation to the disclosure of the tax affairs of Mr Collins, who was exposed as a tax evader last week. He was listed as having had to pay €130,602, in tax, penalties and punitive interest.

As a Dáil deputy, he had a responsibility to afford proper example in such matters and he had ample opportunities to regularise his tax affairs.

The Taoiseach had previously stated that there was no place in Fianna Fáil for tax dodgers, but he needs to demonstrate that this is not just another facile platitude, uttered with as much conviction as one of the party’s empty election promises.

How can the Taoiseach expect people to believe he is serious about tackling tax evasion among his own deputies when he failed to take any action, even though he admitted yesterday that he has known for “some months” that Mr Collins had tax problems?

Yet, Mr Ahern made no effort to learn the nature of those problems, as if they were of no concern to him.

If it was the first time that the Taoiseach had made such a mistake one might understand, but this is just another example in a litany of misadventures.

Even when informed in advance he has assiduously avoided enquiring into such matters. He has behaved as if the problems might disappear if he ignored them.

Prior to his election as Taoiseach he signed blank cheques for Charles Haughey without asking questions, and he meekly accepted Ray Burke’s denial of misbehaviour, despite contradictory evidence.

Then, when Mr Burke resigned, the Taoiseach complained that a good man had been hounded out of office. In addition, the Taoiseach did not bother to follow up on Denis Foley’s warning of his tax problems.

It has been one example of poor leadership after another in which he has been unwilling to lead, or to learn.

This kind of leadership, in which he continues to bury his head in the proverbial sand, should not be allowed to continue.