It was Mr Brendan Howlin of the Labour Party who described the Dail on RTE radio yesterday morning as the "chamber of accountability" in this State. But the Dail debate on the Gilmartin affair turned out to be another damp squib. Critically, it did little to resolve the fundamental and very serious conflict between the word of the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and Mr Tom Gilmartin's recollection of events. The contradictions between the two men may now only be resolved before the Flood tribunal, if at all. Ostensibly, Mr Ahern, after a controlled and confident performance in the debate, has emerged relatively unscathed. The truth is that the stability of his Government has been damaged to a degree considered unthinkable even a week ago. Last night, the Progressive Democrats, while keeping all options open, were continuing to talk of conditional and qualified support for their partners in Government. And, as the Moriarty tribunal opens today, there is a sense of foreboding about new disclosures and allegations.
During the Dail debate, the Opposition did manage to land some glancing blows but no more. Mr Ahern, portraying himself as a modest, hardworking leader who would have no truck with low standards, provided a range of facts and information. But his overall account raised as many questions as it answered. It is clear that the Taoiseach's inquiries into Mr Gilmartin's allegation that he gave Mr Padraig Flynn £50,000 (which Mr Gilmartin says was intended for Fianna Fail) were not pursued with any great vigour to put it at the very mildest. At the instigation of Mr Ahern, Fianna Fail wrote to the EU Commissioner, Mr Flynn, in Brussels last October, but when he failed to respond, the Taoiseach took no action; the president of Fianna Fail did not initiate any form of legal or disciplinary action against Mr Flynn.
More critically, it is clear from what Mr Ahern said in the Dail that he did not personally brief the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, about Fianna Fail's contacts with Mr Flynn in Brussels. It is not the kind of mutual trust expected between partners in government. From Mr Ahern's account, it also emerges that Mr Gilmartin, characterised in recent weeks as a minor figure by some government sources, enjoyed an extraordinary level of access to senior ministers, including Mr Ahern, in the late 1980s. By any normal measure, the disclosure - on the floor of Dail Eireann - that Mr Flynn failed to respond to the inquiries about the £50,000 should force him to give a detailed response, if not to consider his position. Instead, Mr Flynn, safe in the knowledge that the Government cannot sack him, appears content to sit it out in Brussels, turning his back on questions. He has always made much of his record of service to both Ireland and Fianna Fail. This morning, his relationship with both his country and his party makes a mockery of all he has claimed to hold dear in his political life.