The Government should take its courage in its hands and publish all the names mentioned by Mr Gerard Ryan in his report into the operation of the Ansbacher accounts. Some of the names are already in circulation. An affidavit produced by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the High Court last week, seeking the appointment of inspectors in the case, effectively identified existing and former members of the board of Cement Roadstone Holdings, along with other persons, as deposit holders. At a minimum, publication at this time would allow those persons mentioned in the report to explain the circumstances leading to their involvement - should they wish to do so. It is a course of action that has already been adopted by a number of individuals. In some cases there may be "bona fide" explanations. In others, not.
The McCracken report, which first drew attention to the Ansbacher accounts more than two years ago, stated: "A number of the Irish depositors may have been people engaged in international business which was greatly facilitated by having a sterling account abroad which did not require exchange control permission to operate. No doubt there were others who deposited the monies in this way from other motives". The "other motives" so delicately mentioned by Mr Justice McCracken involved large-scale tax fraud and sums of money amounting to at least £50m. A former Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fail, Mr Charles Haughey, was also identified as a major client and beneficiary of the accounts.
At this stage, a tax-compliant public is seriously disturbed by more recent disclosures of widespread tax fraud, encouraged and facilitated by our financial institutions through the 1980s and early 1990s; a failure by successive governments and senior civil servants to take decisive remedial action and the effective emasculation of the Revenue Commissioners in the collection of DIRT tax. Failure to apply the law at the time has been justified on the grounds that action might have caused an outflow of funds, or caused interest rates to rise. Precisely the same reasons were advanced two years ago by a Fianna Fail Minister when he sought to persuade the opposition parties from including the Ansbacher accounts within the terms of reference of the Moriarty tribunal.
There is a culture of tax evasion in this State. The first attempt to introduce a "whistle blowers charter" for accountants and financial advisers who facilitated tax evasion, following the Beef Tribunal's report, had to be severely modified because of an outcry from the legal profession. The McCracken report led to a formal inquiry being set up by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland two years ago, under the chairmanship of Mr Justice John Blayney, to establish whether members of the profession were guilty of professional misconduct. A final report is still awaited. No sanctions have been imposed against members. In that context, the decision by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, to appoint an accountant from outside the jurisdiction as one of the three new inspectors into the Ansbacher accounts tells its own story.
There are powerful people and interests in this country with a great deal to hide. And they will go to considerable lengths to have their way. The debate in the Dail last night between the Government and the opposition parties took a predictable course with the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, arguing persuasively against disclosure, while the opposition parties demanded publication under controlled circumstances. There are always political/economic/legal reasons why difficult decisions should not be taken. On this occasion, however, there are compelling considerations in favour of publication. The tax-compliant public needs to be reassured that, from this time on, the law will be strictly applied; that "golden circles" will not be tolerated and that offenders will be punished. Some names have already been released, both officially and unofficially. The process should be completed quickly, under the law, with provision made for named individuals to put their version of events into the public domain. All that is required is political will.