THE Taoiseach refused to comment on opposition claims that the public was misled about the seizure of £130 million worth of cannabis at Urlingford, Co Kilkenny, last November.

Despite strongly worded demands by Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats for a Government statement, the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, said it was a matter for the Garda Commissioner and he accused the parties of introducing political considerations into the day to day operations of the force.

The PD spokeswoman on justice, Ms Liz O'Donnell, said she had accepted the offer of a private briefing from the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, having made it clear that she was not prepared to be compromised into silence by it.

Ms O'Donnell added she was still of the opinion "that there are very serious questions to be answered in this whole matter, and I believe that the Minister must account for the fact that the public was misled over a prolonged period of time as to the nature of the operation, its motivation and its outcome."

The matter was first raised on the Order of Business by the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, who asked the Taoiseach if he was aware that there was much speculation and talk in recent weeks. He had previously raised in the House the fact that nobody was apprehended at the location of the drugs seizure. But the Taoiseach had made light of the remarks on that occasion.

Mr Bruton, he added, had remarked at tile time "Obviously, one would not expect to find the drug barons in the lorry. They were not apprehended on the spot. It should not warrant the significance that Deputy Ahern attaches to it."

Mr Ahern said that what he was doing on that day was raising a question relating to something made known to the Fianna Fail offices. Who had driven the truck had a lot of significance. "I would like to give the Taoiseach the opportunity, if not now, tomorrow, of answering."

He would also like to refer the Taoiseach to what had been stated on the adjournment of the House on the night of December 9th and what had been subsequently said in the House on December 14th. He would say no more, except to ask the Taoiseach to look at the matter and correct the record of the House.

The PD leader, Ms Mary Harney, said she also wanted to express her concern. She thought the public had been misled in the House, and she felt that the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice and the Minister of State in the Department should clarify the matter.

She was concerned that the drug "godfathers" should be apprehended, but that did not mean that anybody should break the law and that the public should be misled. While sensitivities were involved, it did not mean that the House should not be fully informed about the matter.

The Taoiseach said he had commented on questions which were raised at the time without notice. The question of apprehending people involved in drug trafficking was a matter of day to day responsibility for the Garda Commissioner and he did not think it was possible or appropriate for the Minister for Justice or himself, without notice, to be responsible for answering specific questions about specific Garda operations. Those were properly a matter for the independent supervision of the Commissioner.

It was not in the best interests of law enforcement in the State that the opposition parties should introduce political considerations into the day to day operations of the Garda, he added.

Mr Ahern said he had given the Taoiseach an indication of what was being raised in a most orderly way. Without going into operational matters, he was very clear about some of what happened. He did not want to get into these because they were confidential. But, he added, what happened in Urlingford, and afterwards, was a matter for the House.

Mr Bruton said that 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 dealt with in the normal way, without the necessity to recourse to "vague inferences and dark hints" of the kind in which Mr Ahern was engaging.

On his Dail reply to Mr Ahern's questions at the time of the seizure, he had expressed a general opinion that one would not expect to find, in normal circumstances, drug barons in the cab of a lorry that was used for conveying such concealed drugs. He believed that was a reasonable, normal inference to draw.

"I had no, and have no, specific knowledge of the particular Garda operations in this case. I have confidence, as I believe the deputies who were offered a confidential briefing should have confidence, in the competence of the Garda under the direction on a day to day basis of the Commissioner, to conduct criminal investigations."

Mr Ahern said he found the Taoiseach's approach very unhelpful. While his party had received a confidential briefing, the "horses and the dogs in the street" had given the information to it. But that related to the period up to the Urlingford incident. There was no confidentiality about what had happened in Urlingford, how the truck got there and who drove it there and how it got away from there.

Ms O'Donnell, who was speaking during the debate on the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Bill, 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?

. Were the Revenue Commissioners prepared to go along with the operation and if not, why not?

. Was this truly an operation which had 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 was adjourned.