I give a warm welcome to the pupils from Greystones Community National School who are in the Gallery.

For the second time in two months, the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, will make a clarifying statement in the House later today. In March, he made a statement about a planning application for his family home. The Minister of State said he was entirely satisfied that the planning application was in order, but questions remain outstanding. We still do not know why the incorrect address was recorded on that application. The Minister of State has repeatedly refused to answers in that regard. Questions have now arisen about his decision, when serving as a county councillor in Limerick, to agree the sale of land that was later bought by his wife. The Minister of State released a short statement on Monday evening that failed to deal with the critical issue. His wife's solicitor had written to the council expressing her interest in buying the land a few short weeks before the Minister of State, who, as already indicated, was a councillor at the time, attended a meeting of the Bruff local area committee, which agreed to put the land up for sale.

I am not pre-empting what the Minister of State is going to say later, but I wonder if standards of accountability and transparency in the Government and the Tánaiste's party are slipping. When the Tánaiste sacked Deputy Cowen as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, he said it was because the Deputy was not prepared to make any further statement or answer questions on the issue in this House. The Tánaiste clearly thought it was appropriate for Deputy Cowen to take questions on that matter in this Chamber. There is precedent for question-and-answer sessions among the Tánaiste's colleagues. The Taoiseach previously agreed to take questions on a controversy he was embroiled in and so did the Minister, Deputy McEntee. The Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, has recently done the same. However, now when the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, is due to address the Dáil about a controversy for the second time in two months, the Taoiseach tells us facilitating questions from the Opposition would be akin to a kangaroo court.

The Tánaiste and the other Coalition leaders have given the Minister of State their full support. All have said that no laws were broken and, in effect, that there is nothing to see here. If the matter is so straightforward, why refuse the Opposition the opportunity to question the Minister of State? It is the job of Opposition to hold Ministers and Ministers of State to account. The Opposition has a really important role to play in our democracy by doing so.

My questions are as follows. Why is there one rule for the Minister of State and another for other members of the Government and the Tanaiste's party? Does the Tánaiste agree with the Taoiseach that question-and-answer sessions turn the Dáil into a kangaroo court?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. As she said, my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, will make a statement to the Dáil later today. He has already clarified the sequence of events around this issue.

He has not.

As he has pointed out, it was in September 2008 at a statutory meeting of Limerick County Council that the sale of a property in Patrickswell was approved and sold following a transparent and open sales process that was open to all and advertised in the local press, like any other land for sale. The Minister of State was not a member of the council in 2008 because he had been elected to this House in May 2007.

It is important the full story is told in all of this. At the outset of this matter, the full story was not told. Deputy Cairns has referenced the planning questions that were raised initially in The Ditch. When I first read the article in The Ditch, I got the distinct impression the application went in under a false name. I finished the article with the distinct impression there was a false advertisement put in a newspaper. Both impressions were false, but very strong innuendo was left out there. That is how the article was deliberately written. It had more to do with undermining character and reputation than anything else. That deserves scrutiny by the House too. We should look at how these campaigns are developing and how they are orchestrated. I do not believe that this House should be a slave to or facilitating political campaigns-----

Hear, hear.

-----organised by platforms. I do not see The Ditch as an independent media platform at all. Paddy Cosgrave does. He is a backer. Chay Bowes was a founding member of The Ditch. Chay Bowes is quoted on Russia Today. The Russian ambassador is full of praise for Chay Bowes for his characterisation of the Russian war on Ukraine as a war organised by NATO and the EU.

I am a fair person. I have been a Member of this House for a long time. The world of politics has changed. I understand what has changed. I know what is going on here in terms of the broader political world. We should not be slaves to it. I respectfully say to the Deputy that neither should she. Legitimate questions can be asked. If one looks at that whole campaign and how it was organised over the past week, one will come to the conclusion that it deserves analysis. There was the trending, the build-up, the hashtags, the algorithms and the paid ads. There was the berating of media for daring not to discuss it or cover it and extraordinary full-frontal attacks on the national broadcaster and other TV channels and media for not following the trending operation.

I thank the Tánaiste. Time is up.

I have issues with that and it is why I genuinely say that the political world has changed. As far as I can see, and I can give various quotations from those who back The Ditch, this was a political campaign.

The Tánaiste said that legitimate questions can be asked; that is all I am trying to achieve. I am not asking him about The Ditch and his opinion on it, his opinion on whether the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, has broken any laws or if he has confidence in the Minister of State. This is about public confidence in our political system, our planning system and our system of local government. That is the critical issue here. Public confidence has already been badly battered by previous controversies. All of us in the House should be doing everything we can to protect and restore that confidence. Ministers of State being facilitated in delivering statements while the Opposition is muzzled in some way does not scream accountability and transparency.

On previous occasions, the Tánaiste's approach has been different. He sacked Deputy Cowen from Cabinet for refusing to make a statement or answer any questions in this House. Other Ministers and Ministers of State, namely, Deputies Calleary, Troy and English, have opted to resign from Government. This suggests that standards of accountability are really high. Now we are told that even responding to questions is too high a bar. This is not about political scalps; it is about political accountability. Why is there one rule for the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, and a different one for everybody else?

I have given the Deputy the political context. She referred to public confidence in our political system. To me, that is the purpose of the various campaigns that have happened in recent times. They are orchestrated and organised.

Will the Tánaiste answer the question?

I am answering the question.

You are not.

I am saying that the political context has changed.

This is a political organisation attacking Government and wanting to undermine confidence in it. That is what is going on here so we are entitled to respond. I am fully cognisant of what is going on here-----

Will Deputy Niall Collins address the issue of the planning application and the letter from his wife's solicitor?

-----and I see this now through a totally different prism. I see how all of this is being organised and set up by people who are very clear in their campaign-----

That is not what I am asking about.

-----against me and my party. It can be seen in all of the comments that have been made. Paddy Cosgrave is a strong supporter and there are deep connections between the Web Summit, Paddy Cosgrave and this organisation. What did he say? "...Maybe it's time to body bag...". That was a tweet. It continued: "... a few minions in media, civil service, charities, judiciary, private sector..."

I am asking the Tánaiste about Deputy Niall Collins.

He is answering.

We are not facilitating this; that is the answer to the Deputy.

How about answering the question?

The Deputy is slavishly following this agenda.

We will have to remove The Ditch altogether.

I am not.

I accept her bona fides as a Deputy; do not get me wrong but it is only when-----

I am asking the Tánaiste if the Minister of State will take questions.

-----the thing came to a crescendo during the week that all the questions started to come in. The Deputy is part of it. She is inadvertently being dragged into it. I would respectfully suggest that there are a lot of issues around this that need interrogation.

Can we return to a little order please? The format is that people put questions to the Tánaiste and the Tánaiste is given the courtesy of-----

Giving a lecture back.

-----being allowed to answer the questions.

He is not answering.

He did not answer.

Has Deputy Gould a problem?

The Ceann Comhairle said the Tánaiste will answer the question but he answered none of Deputy Cairns's questions.

I did not. I said-----

The Ceann Comhairle said he would have the ability to do so. He did not answer the questions. That is all I said. The Ceann Comhairle said that and I said he did not answer.

I said the procedure is that questions are asked, courtesy is shown and people are given an opportunity to respond. The Deputy might not like the response but the response will be given. We will hear Deputy Paul Murphy.

Remove The Ditch altogether.

That was quite an incredible display of bluff, bluster and attempted distraction from what has been happening. The Tánaiste did not answer any of the questions. Why has the Government, with the support of so-called Independents, voted to block any questioning of the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins? We know we will not get a proper addressing of the very serious allegations of corruption against him. How do we know that? Because it is less than two months since he was in here making a statement about the last scandal he was embroiled in. What did he do in that statement? He studiously ignored the central allegation against him, that he had told a mistruth on his planning application. He did not deny it or dispute it; he simply ignored it. Why is the Tánaiste facilitating him in avoiding properly addressing the allegations? The Tánaiste sacked Deputy Cowen because he refused to attend a questions and answers session in the Dáil so why is he protecting Deputy Niall Collins?

A week has passed since the original story was published in The Ditch and Deputy Niall Collins has not disputed or denied any of the key facts that were outlined there. Deputy Niall Collins's wife approached Limerick County Council in December 2006, through a solicitor, expressing interest in buying a plot of land. The next month, Deputy Niall Collins participated in the decision at the Bruff Local Electoral Area Committee, to put this land up for sale. Unless Deputy Niall Collins is going to make the highly implausible case that he did not know that his own wife had expressed interest in buying the land, then the situation is clear. The Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, then a councillor, breached the code of conduct for councillors and he breached the Local Government Act 2001. He arguably committed a criminal offence in doing so. For the benefit of the Tánaiste, let me read the relevant section of the code of conduct for councillors:

...under the 2001 Act councillors must disclose at a meeting of the local authority or of its committees any pecuniary or other beneficial interest... they or a connected person have in, or material to, any matter with which the local authority is concerned in the discharge of its functions, and which comes before the meeting. The councillor must withdraw from the meeting after disclosure and must not vote or take part in any discussion or consideration of the matter...

It is crystal clear; his wife had a pecuniary interest in the matter of the land being put up for sale. Deputy Niall Collins did not disclose this interest and he did not withdraw from the meeting. He participated in the decision to put the land up for sale.

How can he remain as a Minister of State? His wife bought the land from the council for €148,000 and she is reportedly in the process of selling it back to the council for an amount that will be many multiples of that. Deputy Niall Collins used his position on the council, not for the benefit of the public who elected him, but for the enrichment of his own family. It smells like the same old slíbhín behaviour and stroke politics of Fianna Fáil, starring a brazen gaimbín who always has his eye on the main chance. Bertie Ahern is back and this old muck is too. That is why the Tánaiste is covering this up.

There is nothing to cover up but the Deputy has made his decision.

Yes.

Deputy Paul Murphy made his mind up a long time ago. I saw him on "Prime Time" last week and to all intents and purposes he has labelled Deputy Niall Collins as corrupt and as having committed a criminal offence.

It is clear.

So what questions does the Deputy want to ask? He has made up his mind. Stop now-----

Is he saying that his wife-----

The Tánaiste is answering.

The Bruff Local Electoral Area Committee has no statutory authority, and it had none at the time, to dispose of a property. That is the first fact and so there was no pecuniary or beneficial interest in the land on behalf of Deputy Niall Collins or his wife at that time.

How was the land put up for sale?

None at that time.

How did it end up for sale?

The Tánaiste should address his replies through the Chair and Deputy Paul Murphy should hold his whisht until the questions have been answered.

I have said that it would have been better if at the time Deputy Niall Collins had left the meeting and not participated but it is clear that officials brought that proposal to the local electoral area committee. I am trying to be fair and balanced and I will not pre-judge it like the Deputy does. It was at the 2008 meeting, well over a year and a half later, that the land was formally disposed of by the full council when Deputy Niall Collins was not even a member. It was an open sales process that was totally transparent with different bids and so on, apparently, and the land was then sold. In her own right, his wife is entitled - I do not think we should cast aspersions on any individual or any woman who goes forward on the open market and purchases a property.

I did not engage in bluff earlier.

The Tánaiste did.

I am very clear about this and I have a clear view that this has been going on for quite some time. There have been attempted character assassinations of many politicians in this House and of many political parties if they are not of the same political orientation of those who back The Ditch, who are good friends of the Deputy in terms of their political philosophy and political ideology.

Come on.

There is no question about that. The selective and distorted way that stories originate and are presented leaves an awful lot to be desired. This is a political organisation - that is my point - and the whole agenda is to create a campaign, get to the paid adds, get it trending, attack media if they do not cover it and then get it into the Dáil for questions and answers. We will make our judgment call on this as to the balance of how we approach it with Dáil questions and so on. I am very clear now on what is going on here. There is a political organisation out there; it is not an independent media platform by any stretch of the imagination, nor should anyone even suggest that it is because if you read all the tweets of Paddy Cosgrave or Chay Bowes in respect of me or other political leaders on this side of the House it is clear that their agenda is to take down the Government. That is fine and they are entitled to have that, but I understand what it is and I am not going to facilitate it every week, in and out here in Dáil Éireann.

Hear, hear.

The Deputy made a comment about the planning application that Deputy Niall Collins made. That point was never made in the original story and I said that my impression when I first read the story in The Ditch was that it was quite shocking. However, when I read the documentation it transpired that it was in his name, that he fulfilled all the criteria for the planning and that the advertisement was in his name and was bona fide on the file, but-----

But he lied about where he was living.

-----you would never have thought that from the article that was first published by The Ditch.

Well said.

Without The Ditch, Deputy Troy would still be a Minister of State and Deputy English would still be a Minister of State. No wonder the Tánaiste is attempting to undermine The Ditch because it has been quite successful in exposing corrupt and unethical practices by Ministers in the Government and in the Tánaiste's party. The Tánaiste would leave everyone with the impression that the meeting, on 15 January 2007, of Bruff Local Electoral Area Committee may as well not have happened as it did not have any power.

It could not even put the land up for sale. The Tánaiste might tell me how the land ended up for sale. The decision made in January 2007, which Deputy Niall Collins participated in without declaring that his wife was interested in buying the land, was to put the land up for sale. The land then went up for sale but the Tánaiste says the meeting, which the Deputy participated in and did not recuse himself from, had no relationship to the land being put up for sale. This committee made the decision-----

I did not say that.

He did not say that.

What is clear is that Deputy Niall Collins participated in the decision to put the land up for sale. Without that decision, his wife could not possibly have bought the land and increased her money massively in the way she did and his family would not have been able to enrich itself in the way it did. That is absolutely clear unless it is the case that he had no idea that his wife had expressed an interest in buying the land, which is extremely implausible.

Judge and jury.

It is there in black and white. The Government just wants to cover it up.

It is all out there. The documentation is published.

Exactly. It is and the Tánaiste is standing over the Minister of State.

It is all transparent. The Deputy will always raise issues, through the Chair, about who is backing what or who is behind a particular organisation. It is very clear to me that Chay Bowes is a political opponent of the Government, as is Paddy Cosgrave. I would love to know who is funding The Ditch in its entirety. They partly fund it but who else is funding it? The site has no advertising and does not offer subscriptions. Did the Deputy ever question who is funding all of this? What really alarms me is that the Russian Embassy in Ireland praised Chay Bowes in February 2023 with a tweet on his essay, an essay I have read, blaming the West for the war in Ukraine, which it called:

An extensive analysis of the proxy war waged by the US, EU and NATO against Russia in Ukraine by @BowesChay, an independent journalist from Ireland

A few weeks ago, on 9 April, Chay Bowes turned up on RT India, where a caption referred to him as a Russia Today correspondent. That is what is behind The Ditch lads. I will pose a question to the entire Dáil. Is it our function to slavishly follow The Ditch's agenda all of the time?

Cover-up.

I ask for reflection on that.