THE Taoiseach yesterday refused to make a statement in the Dail on the seizure of cannabis worth £130 million by gardai at Urlingford, Co Kilkenny, in November.
Mr Bruton accused the opposition parties of introducing political considerations into the day to day operations of the force.
He said the Fianna Fail spokesman on justice, Mr John O'Donoghue, had accepted a confidential briefing on the matter. So there was adequate opportunity for the opposition parties' concerns to be handled without recourse to "vague inferences and dark hints" of the kind in which the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, was engaging.
It was believed to be the State's biggest drugs seizure. The cannabis was found in an abandoned 40 ft lorry container south of Urlingford on the main Cork Dublin road.
The operation was hailed as a "good example of co-operation in the fight against drugs" by the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen. She congratulated the Garda, Customs and Naval Service.
But yesterday in the Dail, Mr Ahern said there had been much speculation about the matter. The PD spokeswoman on justice, Ms Liz O'Donnell, said "I believe that the Minister for Justice must account for the fact that the public was misled over a prolonged period as to the nature of the operation, its motivation and its outcome."
During the debate on the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Bill, Ms O'Donnell demanded answers to the following questions. Was the consignment of drugs in question imported into Ireland, with ministerial authority, by gardai with a view to entrapment of suspected drug dealers? At what level was the importation operation authorised?
When were the Minister and the Taoiseach informed of the importation proposal? Was the Revenue prepared to co-operate and if not why not? Did the operation have the unanimous support of the National Drugs Task Force?
She said the Garda press office had disputed media claims that the drug shipment was a sting which went wrong. "Was it a sting which went right? If so, why all the cloak and dagger?"
The debate will resume today.