FG motion calling for release of Ansbacher names defeated

The Government had a comfortable majority when it voted down a Fine Gael private member's motion calling for the publication of the names of the Ansbacher account holders.

Its amendment, approving the actions taken by the Tanaiste and endorsing the remit given to the High Court inspectors, was approved by 72 votes to 67. The Government was supported by the Independents Mr Jackie Healy- Rae (Kerry South), Mr Tom Gildea (Donegal South West), Mr Harry Blaney (Donegal North East) and Ms Mildred Fox (Wicklow).

Fine Gael was supported by Labour, the Green Party, Mr Tony Gregory (Independent, Dublin Central), Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) and Mr Caoimhghin O Caolain (SF, Cavan-Monaghan).

The second day of the debate on the Fine Gael motion brought renewed calls from the Opposition for the publication of the names and an insistence by the Government that this could not be done.

Earlier, on the Order of Business, the Taoiseach said that Ms Harney was still considering whether the Ansbacher report should be sent to the Garda Commissioner. He was replying to the Fine Gael deputy leader, Mrs Nora Owen.

Speaking during the debate on her party's motion, Mrs Owen said that she was a sister of Ms Mary Banotti, "one of the names leaked as one of the alleged club of 120". She reiterated that Ms Banotti had never banked with Guinness & Mahon, never had any kind of account in Ansbacher Cayman and had never heard of College Trusts until she read about it in recent days.

"I am not impressed by the bleating and crocodile tears of the Government parties about the need for natural justice and due process, saying that we cannot make these names available because we might damage someone's good reputation.

"What about the names that are already out in the public arena? What about their right to due process and to fair procedures? I can tell at first hand now painful this has been to at least one of the names, and the family of my late colleague, Hugh Coveney, has also suffered immeasurably.

"People's homes are being staked out; the media has a job to do and will continue to try to get these names, to blacken more names and to put names of the guilty into the public arena in an unstructured fashion unless this Government wakes up to its responsibilities."

Mrs Owen said she was "sick to the stomach" listening to talks about due process and natural justice.

"What about the natural justice for the people whose names have already been leaked? . . . Does the Minister understand the pain of someone waking up and the first she knows about £840 of cheques is when she reads it in The Irish Times? The people who have given these names are reputable journalists, so someone is giving them sight of this report, or parts of it."

Mrs Owen said it was interesting that not one of the names in The Irish Times was mentioned in the High Court affidavit. "In other words, whatever the basis for their names being on a list, if they are on it, and we do not know that, or on any kind of list, it was not mentioned in the affidavit."

The Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Noel Treacy, said that once the High Court inspectors' report had been completed, the High Court had wide powers to take appropriate action on foot of its contents.

One example was the disqualification of any persons named in the report from acting as directors or auditors of a company or from managing any company for whatever period the court deemed fit.

"However, the focus of public attention in recent days has been on publication of the report, and section 11 of the Companies Act, 1990, gives the court this power. I want to make it clear that the Government fully supports publication of the report and the Tanaiste intends to make the necessary representations to the court in favour of publication on its completion."

Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) said the Ansbacher scandal was not an operation involving a few errant or rotten individuals. "This involved a substantial circle of the capitalist establishment, captains of industry and leaders of commerce, whose tentacles spread into all areas of society, including semi-state companies, banks and so on."

He added that it was a system built on greed and exploitation of the many by a few. "The political establishment carries serious culpability. What was the 1993 tax amnesty except an endorsement of the fact that a powerful, wealthy minority, who had defrauded the tax system, could do so with impunity?"

Mr O Caolain said a golden circle had defrauded their fellow citizens of massive sums due in taxation and thus deprived children of proper education and the sick of adequate health care.

In one two-year period during the late 1980s, when the Ansbacher accounts were operating, some 20 per cent of hospital beds were closed because of cutbacks imposed by the party which had said that "health cuts hurt the old, the sick and handicapped." They now knew, he added, that the hypocrisy behind that statement was even deeper than was suspected at the time.

The revelations from the Ansbacher investigation, the tribunals and the DIRT inquiry had uncovered a culture of fraud among the wealthy and privileged in society, he added. "Many of the names are out in the open. Their activities have come as no surprise to most citizens, but what causes most anger is that these fraudsters have operated with absolute impunity."

Mr John Gormley (Green Party, Dublin South East) said there was a deep sense of frustration among people. "People are depressed and this despondency will be reflected in the polls at the next election when the turnout will be very low. The corrosive effects of scandal after scandal on the political system are incalculable."

Ms Marian McGennis (FF, Dublin Central) urged the Opposition to keep its zeal in check, "in order that we can jail those who shamefully defrauded the State of income due to it and made compliant taxpayers and families in the 1980s suffer in a manner they should not have had to".

Mr Brendan McGahon (FG, Louth) said it had been mentioned that people might be innocent. "What innocent people have money in the Ansbacher accounts? There are no innocent people involved but greed. There is a large element of greed in Irish society."