Sixty-six days have now passed since the formation of the FF/Green/PD government, the election of which was dominated by questions surrounding the Taoiseach's personal finances, writes Elaine Byrne.
Undoubtedly one of the turning points of the election campaign was the robust exchange between Vincent Browne and the Taoiseach at the launch of the Fianna Fáil election manifesto in the Mansion House.
Confronted by direct questioning on his personal finances, the Taoiseach stated: ". . . in this campaign I trust the Irish people will see through the politics of this, and there is nothing in the politics of this that I am guilty of".
The Taoiseach asked the Irish people to trust him and they did. The authority and legitimacy of government are founded upon this investment of trust. In return, the public is owed transparency and integrity within the structures and processes of government.
What a whirlwind 66 days it has been.
In their last day of office, the FF/PD coalition reappointed Joe Burke, one of the Taoiseach's controversial 1994 financial backers, as chair of the Dublin Port Company for a second five-year term. On the same day, the Taoiseach's counsel at the Mahon tribunal, Conor Maguire SC, vigorously presented the case that the tribunal did not have jurisdiction to continue with its inquiries into the Taoiseach's finances.
Also on this same day, Fianna Fáil finalised undisclosed deals valued at several hundred million euro with Independent TDs Jackie Healy-Rae, Finian McGrath and Michael Lowry in exchange for their support for the FF/Green/PD coalition. The Taoiseach has declined to give a breakdown of what is contained within these agreements.
Deputy Lowry is currently being investigated by the Moriarty tribunal for certain financial dealings and the awarding of the State's second mobile phone licence in the mid-1990s, when he was minister for transport, energy and communications.
Two days later the Taoiseach told RTÉ radio that Deputy Beverley Flynn "definitely has a very good future as an office holder" within the current Government. The Taoiseach's statement came just three days before Flynn's High Court RTÉ bankruptcy case was due to be heard.
Flynn lost the Fianna Fáil whip in 1999 when she voted against a Dáil motion asking her father to clarify his position regarding his alleged receipt of financial donations. Padraig Flynn is scheduled to appear before the Mahon tribunal as a witness this September. Beverley Flynn was expelled from Fianna Fáil in 2001 following allegations that she had encouraged tax evasion while an employee of National Irish Bank.
In June the Opposition were vocal in their disquiet over the manner of the appointment of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the Taoiseach's decision to create three extra junior ministerial posts.
In early August the Taoiseach announced his 11 nominations to the Seanad. Among them was former TD John Ellis. Senator Ellis is a controversial figure among the farming community. A company he co-owned with his two brothers wound up in 1993 with substantial debts owed to farmers in the northwest.
Senator Ellis and Deputy Flynn share the distinction of being politically rehabilitated by the Taoiseach and the ignominy of having had bankruptcy proceedings taken against them. In Senator Ellis's case it was Deputy Flynn's alma mater, National Irish Bank, which issued bankruptcy proceedings and subsequently settled for £20,000, writing off some £243,000. Senator Ellis testified to the Moriarty tribunal in 1999 that former taoiseach Charles Haughey gave him £26,000 in cash from the Fianna Fáil leader's allowance account.
This in turn saved Ellis from bankruptcy and therefore debarment from Dáil Éireann while at the same time averting a potential byelection loss for Haughey.
The Taoiseach also appointed Ivor Callely, former junior transport minister. Senator Callely was forced to resign in December 2005 when it emerged that a major construction company had paid for work on his house in the 1990s. The Taoiseach justified Callely's resignation on the basis that the public was entitled to an absolute guarantee about the financial probity and integrity of its elected representatives.
It is the Taoiseach's political prerogative to appoint or promote whomever he judges fit for public office just as it is his prerogative to enter into negotiations with other political parties and individuals to form a stable government.
This prerogative has been given by the electorate on the basis of trust. The programme for government committed the FF/Green/PD coalition "to continuing the work of ensuring that public life in Ireland achieves the highest standards and that citizens can have full confidence in the regulation of all parts of our democratic system".
There are several ways of maintaining the public's confidence. For example, rather than merely announcing who has been promoted and appointed, it would be helpful if the Taoiseach explained why he has chosen to elevate members of his Government to particular positions. The Taoiseach does not do himself or the Irish people a service by appointing individuals with a chequered background that calls into question their fitness for public office.
Moreover, the Taoiseach has the opportunity to further enhance public trust through comprehensively outlining the terms of the various deals entered into with the Independents. This would be a welcome exercise in promoting standards of transparency and accountability, particularly given the large sums of public money involved.
In his address to the MacGill Summer School in July, Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan made a bold statement on government accountability. The Minister cited the tendency to set up State agencies and bodies at one remove from the Government as "an abdication of responsibility" by his Ministerial colleagues. Speaking on the theme of governance in the next five years, he recognised the fundamental relationship of trust between the Government and the public.
The Minister may be familiar with the story of Rip Van Winkle who, when reprimanded by his wife for his carelessness, "had but one way of replying to all lectures of that kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing".
By the way, a word search of the 86-page programme for government, which took the Green Party and Fianna Fáil 10 arduous days of talks to agree upon, revealed not a single entry for the word trust.
Dr Elaine Byrne recently completed her doctorate at the University of Limerick on the history of Irish political corruption