THERE had been no adequate explanation of the payment of £208,000 by Dunnes Stores on work at the home of Mr Lowry, said the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern.
For a Government that made openness, transparency and accountability its motto, that was totally indefensible. "The distinction drawn by the Taoiseach between ministerial accountability and responsibility for prior actions as a deputy is neither valid nor relevant." Most people found it shocking. Such a large personal payment to a deputy might influence his or her subsequent decisions as a minister.
Mr Lowry was in charge of important semi-State companies and many controversies of his period in office were ethical issues. The phrase "cosy cartels" and "sweetheart deals" must have come back to many people's minds in recent days. Mr Lowry had assailed the reputation of a former chairman of CIE on the basis of expenses that were alleged to be of dubious justification. A capable chief executive of Bord na Mona was forced to resign because his paperwork on expenses was not in order.
"No one boasted louder about the high standards that he was demanding from State companies. He did not hesitate to claim that all his predecessors had fallen down on the job, a dangerous boast for a new minister."
Mr Ahern recalled that he had asked the Taoiseach for a comprehensive statement about the controversial awarding of the second mobile phone licence in April in the light of allegations and innuendo outside the House. Inevitably, concern would be heightened by the latest revelations, especially among competitors who were not awarded the licence.
"In that context, can the Taoiseach confirm whether Mr Ben Dunne has any beneficial ownership, direct or indirect, with any consortium which is a named or as yet undisclosed investor in Esat Digifone?"
The deal involving the part privatisation of Telecom Eireann should also be reviewed by the new Minister, Mr Dukes.
The payments made by Dunnes Stores were either directly for Mr Lowry's personal benefit or were some form of advance payment or credit for services rendered by his company to Dunnes Stores. If the payments were a personal loan or credit facility there would have to be incontrovertible written evidence of that and of arrangements for its repayment. It suggested a possible loophole in the Ethics in Government Act.
"The making of such a large personal loan on more favourable conditions than would be available from any lending institution would clearly represent a personal favour that ought to be declared. If it represented advance payments in kind for services rendered that would constitute income band would have to be declared for tax at the time they were received. You cannot wait to define as income only the final payment when all has been settled up."
If the payments made to him were not in order from a tax point of view, the total liability to the State, including tax, interest and penalties, could be between £300,000 and £400,000.
Other questions were the absence of planning permission for the extension to Mr Lowry's home from the local authority of which he was a member. Also, the payments to Mr Lowry were put under false headings and contained no suggestion that they were loans. Who was the beneficiary of this concealment? asked Mr Ahern.
"It should be possible for the Minister to explain simply, quickly and publicly how major works to his home were paid for and on what basis." A minister's obligations did not cease just, because he had resigned. "Resignation is not an excuse for going to ground and hoping that the public lose interest. That would be a travesty of accountability. The public are entitled to know the full reasons for his designation and why the facts of the case were incompatible with his remaining in office."
It had been suggested that a prominent member of Fianna Fail who served in Government might have received financial payments from Dunnes. If that was so the same approach applied. "Financial gifts have to be declared for capital acquisitions tax purposes if they exceed the threshold. In principle, apart from token presentations in respect of functions performed at home and abroad, neither politicians nor officials should accept personal gifts of value from outside their family, though campaign contributions or contributions for political expenses are, of course in a different category.
Political contributions were perfectly legitimate. But the law should be tightened up and a threshold declared for such contributions. Fianna Fail was not responsible for delaying legislation on this.
Mr Ahern welcomed the new minister, Mr Dukes, who had the respect of Fianna Fail and would do a public service "if he challenges the complacency and over cosy atmosphere - that characterises relations within this Government".
The most immediate task for Mr Dukes would be to prevent the threatened public transport strike over the non-payment by CIE of a PCW award. He also believed Mr Dukes would be right to re-examine the Luas project and see if the underground option was feasible.
The resignation of Mr Lowry was a personal tragedy for him, but was "correct and inevitable" in view of the absence of any proper explanations about the payments from Dunnes Stores.