Mr Liam Lawlor is back in jail, having failed to justify his behaviour before the Flood tribunal to his parliamentary colleagues. Yesterday's exercise, which involved the High Court ordering his temporary release so that he could participate in the Dáil debate, certainly raised the political temperature at Leinster House. But all parties eventually joined in seeking his resignation from the Dáil.
This was the second occasion on which the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, lent his name to an all-party motion deploring the failure of Mr Lawlor to co-operate with the Flood tribunal. In January, 2001, the Dáil parties unanimously concluded that Mr Lawlor should voluntarily resign his seat if he failed to meet the requirements of the courts and the Flood tribunal. Yesterday, they noted his continuing failure to co-operate and again suggested he should "voluntarily resign his membership".
Of course Mr Lawlor will not resign. And, under the Constitution, he cannot be forced to do so. The task of removing him from the Dáil will fall to the electorate in the coming general election. And, given his conduct, such a result cannot come soon enough if politics and democracy are to be protected. Mr Lawlor's pattern of behaviour has been consistent. He refused to co-operate with an internal Fianna Fáil inquiry into planning irregularities and vote-buying on Dublin County Council. And he resigned from that party only when faced by imminent expulsion. Later, he challenged the authority of the Flood tribunal to investigate his financial affairs and refused to co-operate with it until he was threatened with jail. Even then, his co-operation was limited and grudging . His failure to meet the requirements of the tribunal led to him being found in contempt of court on three occasions and jailed.
In the Dáil, Mr Lawlor presented himself as the injured party and the tribunal lawyers as vindictive and implacable antagonists. It was a highly-selective presentation with the Dublin West TD claiming that misunderstandings and poor legal advice had led to his original non-compliance and that subsequent, genuine efforts at co-operation had failed to satisfy the tribunal. He said he felt "deeply wounded by what had happened." Mr Lawlor's brazen response touched a chord amongst some of his colleagues.
They regarded his High Court action and his spirited defence under pressure as, in themselves, worthy of respect. But, any sneaking regard ended there. On the central issue of bringing the Dáil into disrepute through his failure to co-operate with the tribunal - and with a general election pending - they unanimously sought his resignation.
The former Fianna Fáil TD claims to be an unwitting victim. And he cut a lonely figure on the backbenches while he prepared his Dáil speech. It is important to recognise that Mr Lawlor has not been found guilty of any criminal offence. But failure to co-operate with the Flood tribunal, and evidence of large political donations and consultancy fees flowing through a variety of his bank accounts, has raised serious questions that have not yet been answered.