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Ahern still refusing to acknowledge seriousness of tax situation

Issued : Monday 14 January, 2008

The whole approach of the Taoiseach and his government colleagues is showing an increasingly strident reaction - bordering on the hysterical - to legitimate questions that have been raised about his financial affairs and his tax issues.

This was in seen in the coordinated attacks on the Tribunal by a series of cabinet ministers before Christmas and by the Taoiseach himself post Christmas.

It was seen in the government's unsuccessful attempt to gag the press and prevent them from questioning the Taoiseach about these issues during his trip to South Africa and it was seen in the intemperate reaction by Mr. Ahern to the legitimate questions that have been raised by opposition leaders.

Mr. Ahern still appears refuse to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation in which he finds himself. The reality is that the Taoiseach has been unable to secure a tax clearance certificate from the Revenue Commissioners. This is a document that is not only required of TDs but is also a basic requirement for any contractor tendering for business with any government department.

Failure to secure a tax clearance certificate means that he has been unable to establish to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that he is tax compliant. Is there any precedent from anywhere in the democratic world of a head of government being unable to establish that he is tax compliant and remaining in office?

Given the details given by Mr. Ahern's tax advisers to the Revenue Commissioners, which are now in the public domain, and comparing these with accounts given by the Taoiseach himself to the Dail and in his RTE interview, it is difficult to reach any conclusion other than that an attempt was made to mislead the Dail and the public in regard to his tax status.

The headline on the story in the Sunday newspaper which first published details of the correspondence between Mr. Ahern's tax advisers and the Revenue was 'Revealed: Bertie Lied About Tax'. If this is not accurate then it was a serious libel against Mr. Ahern. Why then has he not initiated legal proceedings against the newspaper concerned?

The fact is that Mr. Ahern's main preoccupation at present appears to be in preparing for Tribunal appearances and trying to sort out his tax affairs. It is now quite clear that he will have to spend several days in the witness box at the Mahon Tribunal in the coming months and many more days preparing for his testimony.

I have previously acknowledged the immense contribution of Mr. Ahern to Irish public life, not least in his work to secure peace and create new political structures in Northern Ireland. He now risks undermining all this by clinging to office at a time when his credibility has been so undermined and his authority so damaged.