Government crisis - Inept Ahern following FF’s sleazy past

DESPITE being described by Charlie Haughey as the most devious, the most ruthless and the most cunning of them all, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is proving to be one of the most inept political leaders this country has seen.

Displaying a frightening inability to learn the lessons of past experience, he is beset by the kind of problems that have dogged Fianna Fáil administrations.

He has singularly failed to eradicate the culture of corruption and nod-and-wink politics which characterise the country's largest political party.

From ex-Taoiseach Mr Haughey and disgraced minister Ray Burke, to Ansbacher account holder Denis Foley and Dublin deputy Liam Lawlor, Fianna Fáil's long record of sleaze is again manifest in the furore surrounding GV Wright the TD who faces drink driving charges after running down a woman on his way home from the Dáil bar and also in the case of bogus account holder Michael Collins of West Limerick, who was penalised over €130,000 by the Revenue Commissioners.

Increasingly, the public perception of Mr Ahern is that of a Taoiseach incapable of facing hard questions and unwilling to take decisive action on virtually any contentious issue. His reluctance to confront rogue deputies is astounding given the growing disquiet over a spate of incidents. Time and again, he has failed to demand satisfactory explanations for the blatant transgressions of party members.

It seems not to matter that taking the honourable course resigning from Dáil Eireann does not feature in Fianna Fáil's code of ethics.

Yesterday, when he rose to address a Dáil besieged by protesters following a three-month holiday in the sun, Mr Ahern's defence of his handling of the Collins tax affair, which he knew about since June, was most unconvincing.

If it was not his place to put the deputy's name in the public domain, as leader of the Government it was his business to investigate the issue. Also, it was his responsibility to take effective action in the matter; something he failed to do.

Adding to the Taoiseach's woes, the Comptroller and Auditor General has warned that taxpayers could face a bill of over €1 billion to compensate victims of abuse at the hands of religious orders.

So one-sided was the deal forged between 18 religious orders and then Education Minister Michael Woods, that the Church's liability was capped at a contribution of €128 million, while the State's liability is open ended.

Reflecting the opposition's frustration, a new sense of urgency is gripping the Dáil. Most people would support Fine Gael's claim that the Michael Collins affair goes to the heart of Mr Ahern's leadership.

And Labour is right to focus on the sheer inadequacy of the Church-State deal, as evidenced by the revelation that eight months into its operation, the Residential Institutions Redress Board is still receiving applications at a rate of 50 per week.

Jaundiced voters are closely watching the performance of the opposition parties. Crucially, with the Taoiseach under mounting pressure, they will seldom have a better opportunity to fatally wound a Government led by a party that lied to the electorate at the last election and is now reeling from scandals.