1971 papers on use of State money could be released

Key confidential papers examined by the 1971 Committee of Public Accounts investigation into the use of State monies in the run-up to the Arms Trial could yet be released.

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has recommended that the clerk of the Dail, Mr Kieran Coughlan, investigate "the legal and procedural implications involved in the possible release of such papers".

In a letter last Thursday to the leader of Fine Gael, Mr Michael Noonan, the Taoiseach said neither the Freedom of Information Act 1998 nor the National Archives Act 1986 could be used to put the papers into public view.

Meanwhile, an examination by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, of secret State papers, promised after the RTE Prime Time programme, is still not completed.

The Committee of Public Accounts published a two-volume report following its inquiries in 1971 into the final uses found for the £100,000 voted by the Dail in 1969 for the relief of distress in Northern Ireland.

In it, the committee found that £41,000 had been misappropriated and that questions remained over the use of the rest. The committee did not try to apportion blame.

However, the documentation submitted to the committee and the evidence delivered during in camera hearings has never been published. The final reports were published without schedules or indexes.

In his letter to Mr Noonan, Mr Ahern said: "It seems therefore, as you also pointed out, that it is a matter for the House itself to determine whether or not these papers can be released for public scrutiny, subject, of course, to any legal constraints on the release of some or all of the material."

Mr Noonan said the Taoiseach's reply did not go far enough. Instead, he proposed that the Committee on Procedure and Privileges appoint an expert group to conduct a preliminary trawl through records.

Fine Gael senator Mr Maurice Manning will push for the establishment of an expert group when he moves a motion in the Seanad tomorrow. "They would talk to people involved who are still alive, check to see if there are papers held in private hands. If the full story emerges, fine. If not, then we could go for a fuller inquiry."

The debate should not be carried out on the basis of incomplete documentation. "It's worth opening it up, because it isn't going to go away if it is examined on a partisan basis. It will just fester away otherwise," Mr Manning said.

Mr O'Donoghue has been in contact with the Garda, the Attorney General's Office and the Chief State Solicitor's Office.