Opposition parties have accused the Government of trying to block questions to the Taoiseach in its planned Dáil debate on the Flood tribunal report.
|
The Dáil will sit on Wednesday and Thursday, with sessions being earmarked for a debate on the second interim report of the tribunal. However, the Government has refused to allow TDs to put direct questions to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste or other ministers.
Fine Gael and Labour have threatened to hijack the debate to try to force the Taoiseach to answer questions on the appointment of Mr Ray Burke as Minister Foreign Affairs in 1997. Fine Gael have also demanded a three-day debate, including a question and answer session.
Labour Party chief whip Mr Emmet Stagg condemned the Government's draft motion for debating the issue as "totally inadequate".
He said there would be a mere five hours available over the two days for debate, which is "an insult to the five years' work put in by Mr Justice Flood and his team".
|
|
Interest in the report push sales to over 25,000 in one week.
|
"Even since the Flood Report has been published, new evidence has emerged about the advice the Taoiseach received from a range of sources urging him not to appoint Ray Burke as Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1997.
"Why is the Taoiseach not willing to face questions on these matters?" he asked.
But Fianna Fáil chief whip Ms Mary Hanafin said last night the Government had drafted a "strong" motion condemning the actions of all those who were named in the tribunal's findings as having been involved in corruption. She ruled out a question-and-answer session.