The Green Party TD, Mr John Gormley, said last night that the report of the tribunal demonstrated a need for a major anti-corruption crackdown in politics. Criminal charges should now be brought against Mr Haughey and Mr Lowry for their "deliberate attempts to evade tax and to hoodwink the tribunal and the public", he said.
Unless somebody was seen to pay the price for breaking the law, people would become irrevocably cynical about the political system. "It is a damning indictment of Mr Michael Lowry and Mr Charles Haughey," said Mr Gormley.
"In particular, as Mr Justice McCracken says himself, it has shown that representatives of our two main parties have been found to be part of an `appalling situation'. "