The Government responded negatively last night to a move by Opposition parties in the Dail to seek to have the terms of reference of the Moriarty Tribunal extended to allow deeper investigation of the Ansbacher accounts.
A Government spokesman repeated that legal advice from the Attorney General suggested that alterations to the proposed terms of the tribunal could not be made because the tribunal is in situ.
The spokesman also claimed the existing terms of reference were sufficiently wide to allow a "full investigation of the Ansbacher accounts because they require the identification of depositors whose accounts have benefited Mr Charles Haughey or any other elected representative, past or present". The four Opposition parties in the Dail joined forces yesterday in a move to have the Moriarty Tribunal terms of reference amended following a meeting of the four party leaders in Leinster House yesterday. The motion will be tabled when the Dail resumes on January 28th.
In their joint motion, Mr John Bruton, Mr Ruairi Quinn, Mr Proinsias De Rossa and Mr Trevor Sargent call for all the Ansbacher deposits to be investigated by the tribunal. If evidence emerges of tax evasion, breaches of exchange controls or other illegal activity, they should be further examined and recommendations issued to prevent fraud. The initial examination would be confidential but, in the event of fraudulent activity being uncovered, the names of the depositors would be made public.
Despite the Government's assertion that the terms of reference cannot be changed, Mr Bruton said the terms actually allow for amending. According to Fine Gael, they can be changed, provided the tribunal has not begun public hearings.
Two of the three Independent TDs who are supporting the Government - Ms Mildred Fox and Mr Harry Blaney - yesterday signalled they are open-minded about backing a more thorough investigation of the Ansbacher accounts. It is understood Mr Jackie Healy-Rae is reserving his opinion.
Ms Fox said she would like to see a greater exploration of the accounts "in the interests of transparency". She said she would also like to see the precise legal arguments, cited by the Government, which say the terms of reference cannot be amended.
"There has been a lot of innuendo and distrust going around. We seem to be depending on business people to make allegations before there are investigations. In a general sense I would not rule out the idea of investigating Ansbacher accounts," she said.
Mr Blaney is also reserving his position but said that, if wrongdoing existed, he would like to see it exposed. He would not be in a position to state his voting intentions until he had seen the Opposition motion.
The Government's voting strength currently stands at 80 out of a total of 164 TDs, and the coalition has been depending on the assistance of some Independents to survive Dail votes.
A Progressive Democrats spokesman said his party is part of Government and that a number of Attorneys General - including the present office-holder - had taken the view that the terms of reference could not be changed at this stage.
However, the Labour Party leader said he would "confidently expect" Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats to accept the motion. It was "very carefully constructed" and he would be surprised if the Progressive Democrats turned it down.
Mr Quinn last week claimed that the terms of reference could not be changed but yesterday he told reporters he had gone back to re-examine them and found that they could be amended.
Accusing the Government of "running for cover", Mr De Rossa said the terms would have to be changed if the Ansbacher affair was to be properly addressed. The Green Party TD, Mr Trevor Sargent, said that nothing less than a fuller tribunal investigation would satisfy the public.
Hearing on Haughey challenge to Moriarty Tribunal: page 6