The last of the six Fianna Fáil members that party leader Micheál Martin recommended for expulsion following the publication of the planning tribunal report has resigned voluntarily.
Former councillor Finbarr Hanrahan today formally resigned his membership of the party, a Fianna Fáil spokesman confirmed. The others who have already relinquished their membership following Mr Martin's proposal to the ardcomhairle are former taoiseach Bertie Ahern; former European commissioner Pádraig Flynn; former TD GV Wright; former senator Don Lydon and sitting councillor John Hannon.
Fianna Fail's national executive still intends to meet on Friday to discuss Mr Martin's intention restructure the party branch in Mr Ahern's former Dublin Central constituency and to transfer the branch’s assets, including the headquarters at St Luke’s, to the party’s general secretary.
The ownership and financing of St Luke’s had been included in inquiries carried out by the Mahon tribunal.
The party will also considering sanctions against other members. Mr Martin told the Dáil yesterday that while he had announced action to be taken against “a series of people against whom the most serious findings we made”, there was “a lot more” in the report for the party to consider.
No names were mentioned by Mr Martin yesterday, although a number of other party figures are criticised in the tribunal’s final report.
The tribunal said it was satisfied that complaints made to the Garda by developer Tom Gilmartin during a 1989 corruption investigation about the Fianna Fáil TD and councillor Liam Lawlor, former assistant county manager George Redmond and Cllr Finbarr Hanrahan were not “thoroughly investigated”.
