The inclusion of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Burke, in the terms of reference for a new Tribunal into political donations hinges on his explanation to the Dail tomorrow. A Government spokesman last night confirmed that the party leaders had consulted again on the terms of reference and that "no major changes" had been proposed by the Opposition. According to the spokesman, the Opposition had proposed changes in relation to the wording of the terms and had advocated technical adjustments, but the modifications were not significant.
It is understood that final agreement on the terms of reference will not be reached until after Mr Burke has concluded his explanation to the House tomorrow. During his 30-minute statement to the Dail, the Minister is expected to explain why he received £30,000 during the 1989 general election campaign and to "say what he did with it".
Sources last night said that he will also criticise the fact that he has been "singled out" among politicians to expound on why he received a donation and will ask the Opposition to state if any of its members accepted contributions "outside of general elections". During the address, he is also expected, for the first time, to publicly confirm that he paid £10,000 of the £30,000 donation to the Fianna Fail Party. Sources said yesterday that this money was paid over in June 1989.
The provision of 45 minutes for questions in the wake of Mr Burke's address has been criticised as being insufficient by the Opposition. The Government Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, said that on resumption at 12 noon tomorrow, the Dail would first hear cross-party expressions of sympathy on the deaths of the Princess of Wales and Mother Teresa.
Following the Order of Business, two hours of Dail time will be spent debating the Government's decommissioning proposals, which must be complete before the start of all-party talks on September 15th. All stages of the Cabinet Confidentiality Bill, allowing for a referendum on the issue on October 30th, will be passed after two further hours of debate. This legislation is essentially the same as the Bill produced by the last Government and sources said there will be few quibbles with a series of Labour-tabled amendments. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is expected to address the Dail before 6 p.m., and bitter exchanges are likely to follow in the question-andanswer session.
The debate then begins on the Dunnes Payments Tribunal and the establishment of a new investigation, a debate that will be resumed on Thursday morning.