Coalition dilemma over FG motion on Flynn

The Government parties will face a dilemma when the Dail debates a Fine Gael motion requesting the EU Commissioner, Mr Padraig Flynn, to respond to the allegation that he received £50,000 from Mr Tom Gilmartin in 1989.

The Private Members' motion, tabled yesterday by Fine Gael, also proposes that if Mr Flynn fails to give "such a full and satisfactory account" within two weeks, the Dail shall consider whether it believes Mr Flynn should continue in office.

If the motion goes ahead next Tuesday and Wednesday, as intended, it will present further embarrassment to the Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrats Coalition. Both the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, have made public statements asking Mr Flynn to clarify his position on the alleged £50,000 donation intended for Fianna Fail.

Mr Ahern disclosed to the Dail last week that, at his instigation, the party's general secretary, Mr Martin Mackin, wrote a letter to Mr Flynn on October 6th, 1998, seeking answers to questions posed by the Fianna Fail trustees. No reply was received.

Mr Ahern also said he had not raised the matter with Mr Flynn subsequently, although he had met him on a few occasions on EU business.

The chairman of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, Mr Phil Hogan, said yesterday the motion would add the moral authority of the Dail to the requests of the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste. However, he accepted that there was nothing Mr Ahern or the Dail could do to force Mr Flynn to resign.

Asked whether the Labour Party would be supporting the motion, a Labour Party spokesman said it had repeatedly called on Mr Flynn to make a full statement on the circumstances surrounding the claims by Mr Gilmartin. "We repeat our call on Mr Flynn to make a statement."

The spokesman added, however, that the Labour Party was considering whether the procedure set out in the Fine Gael motion was "the most appropriate way to proceed and are examining possible alternative parliamentary options".