In 1996, the Taoiseach, speaking after the McCracken tribunal report, said that the public is entitled to have absolute guarantee of the financial probity and integrity of their elected representatives, their officials, and above all their Ministers. They need to know that they are under financial obligations to nobody other than public lending institutions, except to the extent that they are publicly declared. Does the Taoiseach accept that he breached that standard which he set for politicians?

I do not accept that I am under financial obligations to anybody. I do not believe that by accepting a loan or accepting the donation in Manchester that I am under any obligation. None of those people ever asked me for anything or put me under pressure for anything. They are friends.

There is no way in which these words could be interpreted in the manner in which the Taoiseach is now interpreting them.

I have carefully examined, scrutinised and taken full advice on both the governmental practice and the code of practice and I have given my position on that and the legal position. As I stated earlier, I accept it was an error and misjudgment but I do not accept that it is anything more than that, or that I have broken any standard that was in place then or now.

That is not an acceptable apology.

That concludes questions to the Taoiseach.

We will need to ask more questions tomorrow if the Ceann Comhairle does not give us more time. Does he want this to keep going tomorrow?

By the order of the House, we should have finished before 6 p.m. We have gone half an hour past the time when we should have stopped.

We can take another few minutes. On a point of order, can the Ceann Comhairle not take another five minutes?

There is no point of order. We are moving on.