By Franck Shouldice

Tribunal Report Slates Haughey

The vanquished reputation of late Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Charles J. Haughey, who passed away in June, 2006, took another battering with the publication of the Moriarty Report, a summary of the judicial investigation into payments received by the former Taoiseach from 1979 to 1996.

At the end of a nine-year inquiry Justice Moriarty found that Haughey amassed a personal fortune worth 45 million in today’s terms, processed a number of Irish passports for wealthy Middle Eastern nationals in return for cash, personally withheld a large proportion of funds raised for cancer treatment for Fianna Fáil colleague Brian Lenihan (who underwent a liver transplant in the Mayo Clinic in 1989, and died from cancer in 1995), and diverted party funds for personal use by ordering party chief whip Bertie Ahern (now Taoiseach) to co-sign blank checks from party accounts.

In conclusion, the Report suggested: “The very incidence and scale (of payments to Haughey), particularly during difficult economic times nationally, can only be said to have devalued the quality of a modern democracy.”

The Report showed that by the time Haughey finished drawing from the party account as if it was his private purse, he had gone through approximately 1,600 checks pre-signed by Ahern. Significant discrepancies between monies intended for the Fianna Fáil party and amounts withheld by Haughey also litter the period during which Ahern administered party funds. What struck Justice Moriarty most about these inconsistencies is that no mention of the discrepancies was ever made public by any of the parties involved.

“The only reasonable explanations for all of these omissions are that: either those concerned were deeply embarrassed by what had occurred and chose to adopt a diplomatic approach to the issue, or that there was a tacit understanding between them that the matter had arisen in a former era and that its details were best left undisturbed,” concluded the Report. Moriarty also found that financial records at Fianna Fáil went missing when Haughey left office. He ruled that Haughey was uncooperative, had obstructed and even misled the Tribunal. The Tribunal did not accept that Haughey was unaware of his own financial accounts and that his reluctance to assist its inquiries prolonged the duration and expense of investigations.

This may have a significant bearing when it comes to settling the Tribunal’s legal costs as the Haughey estate could yet be ordered to foot their own legal bill. The question of liability will be discussed in the Dáil (Irish parliament) in February and opposition parties will hope to use it to damage the government in the run-up to the forthcoming general election.

The Moriarty Tribunal was set up in 1997 to investigate the wider area of payments to politicians. It succeeded the McCracken Tribunal which had revealed that Haughey received undeclared, private payments from supermarket tycoon Ben Dunne. According to figures released by the Dept. of the Taoiseach the final cost of the Moriarty Tribunal will be close to 200 million.

There are 12 other state inquiries currently in progress. To date, they have cost 174.6 million but that price tag will rise significantly when all legal costs are considered. Five others – into the beef industry, payments to politicians, organ retention and two into blood contamination – have completed their investigations at a total cost of 96.7 million.

Trimble Will Not Contest Seat

David Trimble, former leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) has confirmed he will not contest next year’s March election to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Trimble, a key figure in negotiations that culminated in the Anglo-Irish Agreement – and joint Nobel Peace Prize winner with former SDLP leader John Hume – lost his seat at the House of Commons last year. Along with Trimble’s defeat the UUP fell heavily to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) as the dominant unionist party in the North. In consolation, Trimble was accorded a seat at the House of Lords.

Meanwhile, the Irish Times reports that Portadown Orangemen are prepared to enter into dialogue to resolve the dispute over the highly controversial parade to Drumcree by the Portadown Orange Order. Orangemen have been refused permission to walk their traditional route through the nationalist Garvaghy Road estate since 1998. That refusal has sparked serious rioting in the Co. Armagh town and violent face-offs between Orangemen and security forces.

The Portadown lodge has since refused to negotiate with Garvaghy Road residents or with the Parades Commission, the statutory body set up to adjudicate on controversial marches. However, the lodge recently notified the Commission that Orangemen were prepared to enter negotiations through an independent mediator.

Garvaghy residents welcomed the announcement but said they had not heard anything directly from the Orange lodge. “For too long they have ignored or attempted to bypass the wishes of the residents of the Garvaghy Road,” said SLDP Assembly member Dolores Kelly. “If they have now seen the error of their position then a move towards dialogue is to be welcomed.”

Tunnel Gets Green Light

Dublin’s 725 million port tunnel was finally opened in a highly publicized attempt to resolve chronic traffic problems around the capital. The 4.5-kilometre tunnel is the most costly engineering project ever built by the state and took five years to complete, creating havoc for motorists on Dublin’s northside through the entire period of construction.

Using the new route, trucks will now go directly to Dublin port from the tunnel entry point at Whitehall. After February heavy trucks bound for the port will be prohibited from travelling through the city and will have to connect with the M-50 outer ring road via the tunnel.

However, congestion on the M-50 has already reached crisis proportions and many truckers are concerned that the tunnel will merely add to gridlock. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who opened the tunnel in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, said there were “some problems” on the M-50 but they were being addressed in a “very determined” way.

Farmer Acquitted of Killing Traveller

Mayo farmer Padraig Nally, pictured above, returned to work after being acquitted of the manslaughter of traveller John Ward at Funshinnaugh Cross in October 2004. Nally was originally found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment for shooting Ward but the verdict was overturned on appeal in a case that further divided opinion between the travelling community and settled people.

The jury in the appeal case decided that Nally was acting in self-defense and had been driven to extreme action by a prolonged campaign of provocation. Traveller groups reacted angrily to the appeal verdict, saying it sent out a message that travellers could be regarded as legitimate targets.

Nally returned to his 65-acre farm and requested that the weapon he used to kill Ward – an antique single-barrel shotgun – be returned to him by local gardai (police). However he acknowledged that the gardai may keep the gun. “I would like to get the gun back but I don’t think there’s any chance of that happening in the near future,” he said, adding that he may have to return to court in connection with the shooting. “It is hard to relax with the pressure,” said Nally. “I am not out of worry yet. Everyone needs a gun for their own security in this day and age.”

Northern Ireland Assembly Deadlocked On Policing

Nationalists and Unionists remain deadlocked on the highly contentious issue of policing in Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin has not signed up to participation on the oversight committee board of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), and any policy change at Sinn Féin would first require endorsement by party members.

It has also been revealed that over 70 Catholic recruits have quit the PSNI since the force was revamped. Recruits blame domestic difficulties, stress at work and threats from republican paramilitaries. At present Catholics represent about 21 percent of the total membership of the PSNI, amounting to 1,574 officers.

Jane Winter of the British/Irish Rights Watch pressure group said that efforts at positive discrimination to re-balance the police force has not succeeded for a variety of reasons. “The PSNI has not been able to recruit enough Catholic police officers to the force,” she said “This is undermining the Patten recommendations and community confidence in the police. This failure is in part due to failings within the PSNI, such as an absence of minority representation, and partly to external factors such as the intimidation of new recruits.”

Shuttle diplomacy between Dublin, London and Belfast is attempting to clear the way for Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams to table a policy initiative within his own party. A busy spell of pre-Christmas diplomatic activity underlined the urgency set by the March 26 deadline for the restoration of full devolution to the NI Assembly. Should Sinn Féin fail to review its position on policing and the issue remains deadlocked it is virtually certain that the St. Andrew’s Agreement would collapse, closing the main avenue to devolved government.

The impasse centers on how the Assembly can process key policies on policing and justice in a way acceptable to the majority Sinn Féin and Democratic Unionist Party. The DUP proposes to block any possibility of a Sinn Féin deputy becoming Minister for Justice but their strategy may be modified to enable someone from neither the DUP nor Sinn Féin to take up the post. “It’s about streamlining the DUP proposal and finding the right words,” said one source close to the talks.

Assembly elections are scheduled for March 7 but if no progress is made on policing most parties feel it would be a waste of time holding the elections at all. The only option would be to leave the Assembly suspended and continue with direct rule from Westminster. General elections in the UK and Northern Ireland will take place in May.

Irish Passport Rule Changes

The Irish State has ruled that individuals who have undergone treatment or surgery to change their sexual characteristics will be allowed to change the gender named on their passport. The Passports Bill marks the first statutory recognition of trans-gender rights in Irish legislation and was welcomed by the Free Legal Aids Centers. “We are very out of line with the rest of Europe on this issue,” said FLAC solicitor Michael Farrell.

The decision precedes a legal action taken by a transsexual dentist who wishes to change her baptismal certificate from male to female. Dr. Lydia Foy had surgery to change gender 15 years ago and in 1993 changed her name by deed poll. Dr. Foy is now taking a High Court case against the State on the grounds that transsexuals should also be allowed to have birth certificates amended. The case is due to be heard in April 2007.

Bono Receives Knighthood

Bono, lead singer with Dublin supergroup U2, has been awarded an honorary knighthood by the Queen of England. The honor was attributed to his humanitarian work in Africa as well as his musical success with the band. It will be presented to him in Dublin by British ambassador to Ireland David Reddaway.

The singer told the Sunday Tribune he was “very flattered” to receive the award and hoped it would enhance his work on famine and AIDS in Africa.

In 2005 Bono was named Time person of the year alongside Bill and Melinda Gates. Three years ago he received the Légion d’Honneur from French President Jacques Chirac in recognition of his campaign work.

In being presented with a knighthood Bono is preceded by Bob Geldof, also a singer who made a major impact with humanitarian work through the Live Aid campaign. Geldof was knighted in 1986.

News In Brief

Thomas C. Foley, the new American ambassador to Ireland, made an appearance at Leopardstown horse races in Dublin on St. Stephen’s Day. “I’ve actually been here since October and Ireland is a great place,” he told the Irish Independent. “I’m having a great time here at Leopardstown – I had the winner as well!” he added, having collected for a 20 bet on the first feature race of the Christmas meeting . . .

THE VOLUME of American visitors to Ireland is back to pre-9/11 figures following an eleven percent increase in figures for 2006. European visitors also showed increased traffic, especially from France and Germany, with tourism from the UK up five percent. A total of seven and a half million tourists visited Ireland through the year …

THE IRISH film Board claims to be attracting a wider range of international companies to shoot films and TV productions in Ireland. Despite strong competition from Eastern Europe the Film Board cites successful TV series from Brazil, South Africa and Germany for raising the country’s profile abroad. And since 2004 eleven ‘Bollywood’ films have been completed as co-productions between Indian and Irish production companies. For 2006 the net worth of the industry was valued at 238 million.