I remind the House of the words of the Taoiseach on 28 May 1998, when he said, "What matters most is how a political party reacts to knowledge when it becomes available." These are the words of the Taoiseach in a debate on matters relevant to the former Minister, Mr. Raphael Burke. These are the standards set down by the Taoiseach as head of his party and as Head of Government.

The Taoiseach has openly admitted that, several months ago, he had information to the effect that Deputy Michael Collins, a member of his party, had serious difficulties with the Revenue Commissioners regarding compliance with tax regulations. What did the Taoiseach do? Did he report this to the public watchdog, the Ethics in Public Office Commission? No. Did he call in Deputy Collins and ask him about the extent of his liabilities or otherwise? No. Did he ask his party to investigate the difficulties Deputy Collins was having? No. He did nothing.

The Taoiseach has fallen below the standards he set himself. He pronounced in this House that what is most important is the way a political party reacts when information is brought to its attention. Why did he do nothing in respect of Deputy Collins and his problems? Why did he not call him in and ask him about the extent of his liabilities? Why did he not ask his party to investigate the Deputy several months ago and why did he not report this information to the public watchdog, the Standards in Public Office Commission? Will he explain that to the House and to the thousands of compliant taxpayers who are absolutely appalled by this continuing litany of abuse of privilege and by the activities, in some cases, of Members of this House?

I reiterate what I have said many times across the floor of the House, to be absolutely clear, that the Government and the parties in Government do not and will not tolerate tax evasion in any form. That is why the Government, particularly the Minister for Finance, has given powers to the Office of the Revenue Commissioners to investigate and catch tax cheats. We have done more in this area than any other Government in the history of the State and we will continue to do so.

I believe that those who seek election and those who want to be legislators in this House have a particular responsibility to ensure that their tax affairs are in order. This is why the Government introduced a specific requirement under the standards in public office legislation for elected representatives to make a statutory declaration within one month of their election confirming that they are tax-compliant and to obtain, within nine months of their election, a tax clearance certificate from the Collector General stating they are in compliance with their tax obligations. These are the orders of the legislation and everybody in the House is duly bound to live by them. It is clearly inherent in the legislation that its effective implementation requires individual Members of the House to take personal responsibility to ensure that they fulfil their obligations. However, we also gave the Standards in Public Office Commission power to investigate any potential breach of the legislation. Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats in Government have introduced more stringent regulations pertaining to standards in public life than any other Administration.

They had to.

Deputy Collins approached me in the second half of June. He informed me that he had personally sorted out a tax issue with the Revenue Commissioners, that his name would be published shortly in its report and that when this was published he would make a public statement and make himself available to the authorities dealing with the matter. He understood that because the Fianna Fáil Party had a ruling on tax certificates, it could create problems and that he would have to make his position clear. He also knew the Fianna Fáil ruling, Article A4 of the mandatory code for public officeholders and candidates, which stipulates that where any investigation, inquiry or trial is being undertaken by any court, tribunal or statutory body which concerns the issue or the officeholder who is the subject matter of an investigation by the Standards in Public Life Committee in the interests of natural justice it may postpone, suspend or adjourn its own investigation pending the outcome of that other inquiry. Deputy Collins knew quite clearly that when the Office of the Revenue Commissioners published his name – he had be been informed of this matter either by his accountants or solicitors – he would have to deal with the Fianna Fáil position. To the best of my knowledge – maybe he told me or I told him – it emerged in our conversation that he was aware that he was also in breach of the guidelines of the Standards in Public Office Commission and would also have to deal with that body.

By way of due process I set up the commission and we passed the Bill. I worked hard to set up the commission and to give powers to the Revenue Commissioners on the basis of natural justice and due process. When a Member tells me in confidence that his name is in the Revenue domain, it is not for me to ring Revenue, which would not give me the details, nor is it for me to circulate this information in the public domain. In this case, Deputy Collins was absolutely clear his name would enter the public domain and that he would have to deal with the issues both in the party context and with the Standards in Public Office Commission. I hope and know from his public statement that he will do so.

The Taoiseach's reply amounts to cowardice dressed up as ethics. What is involved is not Deputy Collins but the Taoiseach's leadership. I refer him again to his own standard and his statement that what matters most is how a political party reacts to knowledge when it becomes available. The Taoiseach was given such knowledge by Deputy Collins and he failed to act. In the same debate, he said:

Where controversy or legitimate public concern arises or facts that have not hitherto been known come to light, they must be fully disclosed to the appropriate authority.

What did the Taoiseach do about that? Nothing. Did he ask Deputy Collins to go to the proper authorities? No. Did he ask the Fianna Fáil Party to investigate this? No. Did he ask Deputy Collins what his problems were? No. The issue is not about Deputy Collins but about the Taoiseach and his leadership. It highlights the cynicism that exists among thousands of compliant taxpayers who see this as part of a continuous litany of such issues that have been evident for the past ten years. The country is mired in tri bunal after tribunal and inquiry after inquiry, thanks mainly but not exclusively to members of the Fianna Fáil Party. Will the Taoiseach explain to those compliant taxpayers what he, as Taoiseach, did when this knowledge became available to him last June and what he is doing now. This is appalling leadership and disgusting government and it does the Taoiseach, as leader of his party, no justice to have to admit in the House that he did nothing in respect of the standards he set down in the House in 1998. He has fallen short of his own standard and let down hundreds of thousands of people who pay their way day in and day out and have to put up with another failure of the Government to manage the affairs of the nation properly.

Hear, hear.

I could say to Deputy Kenny, but I would not spend too much time doing so, that it seems Deputy Collins has a difficulty that will be dealt with and that Deputy Kenny's entire party had a problem with its tax affairs. However, we will not go back over all that.

The same as Fianna Fáil.

Allow the Taoiseach, without interruption.

The fact is that Deputy Collins informed me he had been informed, either by his accountants or solicitors, that he was to be named in a Revenue report which created a problem for him in respect of a matter which he said had been resolved. He was quite aware, as was I, that this created a difficulty for him. It may or may not be a very serious one. It was not for me to investigate the facts. I am not in, nor will I get into, the business of breaching due process and natural justice. Thankfully the Office of the Revenue Commissioners is the statutory agency to make reports on people who have either offshore accounts, bogus accounts or whatever else a Deputy may be guilty of.

When this matter was coming into the public domain, there was no secrecy and for Deputy Kenny to infer otherwise is incorrect. It was quite clear that the matter would be investigated, on the publication of the report, by Deputy Collins's party – he was well aware of this – and, more importantly, by the Standards in Public Office Commission.

We set up the commission statutorily to deal with these issues and therefore it is not my job to do so. When a Member tells me he has a difficulty, my job, as far as I am and will be concerned, is to highlight to him that he must deal with this through the commission. I will not check the Isle of Man or wherever else people have offshore accounts. I informed the Deputy that he should comply with the law of the land and in this case he agreed to do so. Deputy Collins believed the Revenue report, about which he was told, would be published in a matter of days. It was not; it took a matter of weeks. I look forward to his coming before the Standards in Public Office Commission or dealing with the matter in whatever way it indicates, in accordance with the legislation, and to his explaining the matter to my political party.