The Government has no special arrangement with the Kerry North deputy, Mr Denis Foley, who recently lost the Fianna Fail whip, the Taoiseach told the House. Mr Foley, who is under investigation by the Moriarty Tribunal as an Ansbacher account holder, is supporting the Government as an Independent.

Mr Ahern said Mr Foley did not attend the weekly meetings between the four Independents supporting the Government and the Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan. "But he has only departed from the parliamentary party in recent weeks. In a democracy, it is not unreasonable for a party, or people, who are not members of the Government parties, but who support it, to seek meetings with the Government to find out what they are supporting."

The matter was raised at Question Time by the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, who asked Mr Ahern if he was aware that since Mr Foley ceased to be a member of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, had refused to meet a cross-party delegation from Kerry County Council, but met a Fianna Fail delegation which included Mr Foley.

"In the light of this decision, does the Taoiseach think it would be right for a deputy such as Deputy Foley, who is an undischarged tax evader, to be a Fianna Fail candidate at the next election?"

Mr Ahern said he understood that Mr Dempsey had met a group of Fianna Fail councillors, but it was not a delegation.

"It included Deputy Foley," said Mr Bruton. Mr Ahern replied: "Yes. He is a councillor and a member of the Fianna Fail party and, therefore, I do not think that was unusual. What happens Denis Foley ultimately is a matter for the party's national executive and his constituency organisation, and will also depend on the findings of the report.

"The parliamentary party has stated that on the conclusion of the Moriarty tribunal, it will reach a conclusion on members inside and outside the parliamentary party and within the organisation."

Mr Bruton pressed Mr Ahern to say if he thought it was right to put up a tax evader as a party candidate. "We will wait and see," the Taoiseach replied. The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, said: "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."

Pressed further by Mr Bruton, the Taoiseach said: "My views about tax evaders were placed on the record of the House two weeks ago. Let us wait until the report is concluded."