Fianna Fail Oireachtas members are to be asked to sign a pre-election pledge that they have complied with, or are in the process of complying with, their tax obligations, under a new party code of conduct. This is a significant dilution of the proposals first put forward by the party leadership last year. The mandatory code, "Standards in Public Life", will be discussed by the Fianna Fail Parliamentary Party today.
The code of conduct deals with election campaigns, fund-raising for candidates and office-holders, and penalties and investigative procedures for those in breach of the code. It also outlines officeholders' and election candidates' duties under the Electoral Acts, the Ethics in Public Life Act, and the Litter Act.
The first version last year included a proposal that all candidates would have to produce a certificate of tax compliance from the Revenue Commissioners. That proposal was rejected out of hand by backbenchers. The latest version of the code is the eighth draft of the document, which has taken more than a year to prepare.
The code of conduct will be discussed as confusion surrounds Mr Denis Foley's continued membership of the ail parliamentary party. The Kerry North TD had been expected to resign after concluding his evidence to the Moriarty Tribunal. However, late last night he had returned to Tralee, with one Fianna Fail source saying the matter was "up in the air". There was speculation that a letter of resignation from Mr Foley would be issued before this morning's parliamentary party meeting.
The pledge in the new Fianna Fail code of conduct requires candidates to abide by the "highest standards of ethical behaviour". The code provides for the establishment of a Standards in Public Life Committee which would be responsible for ensuring its implementation.
In relation to fund-raising, the code states that donations intended for the party at either national or local level must be forwarded to the party without delay. Financial contributions must not be accepted where they could compromise the independence of public representatives.
The Opposition parties last night rounded on the Taoiseach for his handling of the Foley affair. The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, called on the Dail to investigate "the Taoiseach and the repeated pattern in which he ducks and weaves whenever a problem relating to his own party or his past is put in front of him".
The leader of the Labour Party, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said a "murky cloak of secrecy" surrounded the Taoiseach's meeting with Mr Foley last December when the ail TD informed Mr Ahern he was being investigated by the Moriarty tribunal.
Mr Bruton and Mr Quinn were speaking on a Fine Gael private members' motion which calls on the Taoiseach to make a Dail statement on his knowledge that Mr Foley had an Ansbacher account and the circumstances of the December meeting.
The Minister for State at the Department of Health, Ms Mary Hanafin, accused the Opposition of trying to "demonise Fianna Fail and its leader, Ministers and membership".