THE CALL by Minister for Health Mary Harney and Minister for the Environment John Gormley for the Taoiseach to make a statement clarifying his position on the most recent revelations at the Mahon tribunal is the first public signal that all is not so comfortable inside this three or four-pronged Coalition Government. Ms Harney and Mr Gormley speak of public concern and the need to dispel public disquiet. But, it is well past the point of calling for another statement now.
There have been too many explanatory statements from the Taoiseach since this newspaper first published Colm Keena's story 18 months ago revealing that the Mahon tribunal was investigating payments of between €50,000-€100,000 by businessmen to Mr Ahern while he was minister for finance in the early 1990s. Some have been short; others have been long. Some have been in written affidavits; others verbally on oath. Some have been sound bites; others have been long articles. The seminal statement was made on the Bryan Dobson interview on RTÉ when the payments were presented as a dig-out from friends at a sad time in his personal life. There have been three or four other versions of that story ever since.
The deliberate strategy employed by Mr Ahern to confuse and confound his critics may have worked for some time. But a rubicon was crossed for many people after the recent sittings of the tribunal. Those inside Fianna Fáil learned to their surprise that party money had been used for personal reasons. That practice did not depart with the Haughey generation. What has lost Mr Ahern most credibility with the public, however, is the evidence given by Gráinne Carruth, his former constituency secretary. She was forced to acknowledge under oath that on the balance of probabilities she had lodged sterling monies into Mr Ahern's building society account.
These disclosures, taken together, have changed the political climate for the Taoiseach and his Coalition partners. Silence is seen as acquiescence. The total value of the lodgements and other transactions that have been queried by the Mahon tribunal in its public inquiries into Mr Ahern's finances to date adds up to more than £450,000 or €880,000 in today's values.
A statement will not suffice any longer. There is too much credibility lost. Ministers cannot step outside the door without being asked whether they support the latest twist or turn of Mr Ahern's saga. For the current generation of Fianna Fáil families, the Lenihans, Hanafins, Andrews and Cowens, loyalty to the leader is all. They are being compromised.
The time has come for Mr Ahern to name a date for his departure. He should be allowed the dignity of a valedictory address to the Joint Houses of Congress in the United States. He should lay claim to the historic part he played in the peace process in Northern Ireland. There is a danger that he could become the focal point for voters in the Lisbon Treaty referendum. Mr Ahern should name a date, sooner rather than later.