The Fine Gael leader has asked the Government to change the terms of reference of the Moriarty tribunal so as to circumvent a court challenge to its constitutionality by Mr Charles Haughey.
Mr John Bruton has resubmitted an amendment, rejected by the Government parties last September, which would allow the tribunal to investigate possible tax evasion by all users of the Ansbacher accounts, without discriminating between individuals.
Had this proposal been accepted, Mr Bruton said, "it would not have become possible for Mr Haughey now to claim, in his court proceedings, that the tribunal was focusing only on two individuals, or on their families, in a way that transgressed the principle of equality before the law."
The former Taoiseach said it would be wrong if court proceedings "which could go all the way to the European Court were to hold up the Moriarty tribunal for a year or more because remediable deficiencies in the terms of reference had not been corrected promptly."
The amendment now being proposed by Mr Bruton would not formally identify the beneficial owners of the Ansbacher accounts, who held deposits worth £38 million in these offshore accounts in 1989.
But it would ask the tribunal "to identify, insofar as possible, the procedures used whereby Irish depositors of such accounts could have their monies offshore with no records of their deposits in Ireland, and to report whether such a system was used by the depositors to evade the payment of tax, or to contravene exchange control legislation, and to recommend all necessary steps to prevent such mechanisms being used to avoid the payment of tax or contravene exchange controls."
Because the identities of the deposit-holders would not be revealed, the Revenue Commissioners would not find it possible to pursue the individuals concerned for tax evasion. Under the law as it stands, the Revenue must know the details of bank accounts and the names of individuals concerned before it can order an investigation into possible tax evasion.
Mr Bruton said in a statement yesterday he was writing to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and to the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, inviting them to support the Fine Gael amendment or, alternatively, to enter into discussions with the Opposition parties "on ways to prevent avoidable delays to the tribunal by court proceedings arising from grounds that could be removed by timely amendments to the terms of reference.
"As it is an Oireachtas decision that is being challenged in Mr Haughey's court proceedings, it is vital that all parties in the Oireachtas be consulted about, and agree to, the legal strategy being pursued in defending those proceedings.
"Fine Gael requests the Taoiseach to consult all Opposition parties about the legal approach being taken to Mr Haughey's proceedings," Mr Bruton said.