The unprecedented attack by the Taoiseach on the Mahon Tribunal in today’s Sunday Independent is clearly part of a desperate attempt to divert attention away from the gaping holes uncovered by the Tribunal in accounts Mr. Ahern gave to the Dail of the circumstances in which he received substantial amounts of money from wealthy businessmen in 1993 and 1994 and the serious new issues which have now emerged as to whether or not he met his obligations in regard to tax.

Mr. Ahern’s attack, which echoes similar comments made by a series of government ministers just before Christmas, are clearly part of a concerted effort, decided at governmental level, to try to undermine the Tribunal. The Planning Tribunal was established by the Dail and it is now clearly essential that the Dail should be given an opportunity to reaffirm its confidence in the Tribunal, as soon as possible after the resumption at the end of this month.

The basis of Mr. Ahern’s attacks is unfounded. The Tribunal clearly had to ask him some questions relating to his personal life as, when details of these payments first emerged in September 2006, it was claimed that they were to help him cope with the financial consequences of his marital break-up. However, we know now from Mr. Ahern’s own testimony to the Tribunal that he had very considerable other financial resources at the time.

It is hard to understate the seriousness of the issues that have emerged in the past few weeks about Mr. Ahern’s tax status. We now have a situation where the Taoiseach admits that he may not be able to get a tax clearance certificate from the Revenue Commissioners. Serious questions now also arise in regard to the tax clearance certificate Mr. Ahern received after the election in 2002 .

The request made by Mr. Ahern in 2006 that his tax adviser’s letter to the Revenue be regarded as a ‘voluntary disclosure’ and his admission that he made a substantial payment on account clearly indicated that he knew he needed to rehabilitate himself with the tax authorities, yet until the last few days he continued to insist that he had no problems in regard to taxation matters.

Given the details given by Mr. Ahern’s tax advisers to the Revenue Commissioners and comparing these with accounts given by him to the Dail and in his RTE interview, it is difficult to reach any conclusion other than that a deliberate attempt was made to mislead the Dail and the public in regard to his tax status.

Is there any parliamentary democracy in the world where a head of government who found himself in this situation would be allowed to remain in office? The backing given to Mr. Ahern by other Fianna Fail Ministers is hardly surprising. However, the silence of the Green Party and PD ministers is nothing short of astonishing.