The most horrible week of my political career

17 February 1999

By Beverley Cooper Flynn

This has been the most horrible week of my political career. Voting against the Government, as I was forced to do last Wednesday night, was the hardest decision I ever I to make politically. It was a very upsetting decision and it was a very, very difficult thing to have to do. And, yet, I felt I was being forced into a corner because there was no alternative left open to me by my own party. It is of great regret that the situation happened.

There was the huge pressure of the Tuesday and the Wednesday when a lot of the negotiations were going on within the party and people were trying to get me to vote in a certain way.

During all of that time, my party never moved any way towards me at all to help me to a position where I could vote with the Government. They fixed to their position, got everybody else on board and they left me in a situation where I had no alternative.

There were two factors in it for me. One, naturally, was the emotional or family aspect which, I have to say, all the deputies in the house, from top to bottom, understood. In fact, when the vote came on Wednesday night, I don't believe anybody was surprised.

While comparisons have been made about how other deputies voted in the past, even when a family member was involved, there was no situation really comparable to my one. I felt it was a very direct attack and a very unfair position to put any individual into. I perceived this was going to happen for a number of weeks when An Taoiseach stated it would be helpful if my father made a statement about the allegations concerning him.

Unfortunately, in a political situation, if the opposition sees any weakness in the Government side, they are going to seize on it. So I was not surprised when the motion was put down last Thursday. I got the wording of the motion faxed to me immediately, and I realised then it was not going to be acceptable to me.

I rang my Chief Whip straight way and told him of my unhappiness and the fact there was no possibility that I would be able to support it. I asked if the Government was going to put down an amendment. It was my hope that they would be able to find a wording that would accommodate me. I asked that my position be borne in mind because the last thing I wanted to do was become involved in a situation where I had to vote against the Government.

A lot of negotiations took place on the days leading put to the motion being placed before Dail Eireann, and Fianna Fail had to satisfy the Progressive Democrats because, naturally, they are in Government with them. The four independents also had to be satisfied.

It was an unfortunate thing that my own party could find a wording to accommodate all the independents and the P.D.s, but yet could not find anything that would enable me to vote with the Government. I felt very sad about that. I was disappointed for a number of reasons because, firstly, I felt what was happening was an abuse of the Dail. A number of months ago we all voted to set up the Flood Tribunal because we felt strongly that serious allegations made against people should be dealt with in a fair and even handed way.

Even in the Taoiseach's statement to the Dail a few weeks ago, he specifically read into the record that the Tribunal Act of 1921 was set up so that politicians and people involved in public life would be able to hear any evidence, for or against them, heard at a tribunal, away from all the political fall out of Leinster House. That's why tribunals were set up in the first place, and the Government stuck very strongly to the line that anything relevant to the Tribunal should be dealt with there.

Given that we had made that decision a number of months ago, I felt it was wrong to undermine the Tribunal by calling on any individual to make a statement outside of the Tribunal. I felt it was very unfair and very unjust.

I made the point in the Dail when I spoke that while I had the emotional attachment of my father being involved in this particular issue, that even if it had not been Padraig Flynn's name on that motion, I would like to think I would have felt the same way and acted the same way. In my view, it was a position of principle.

At the end of the day, if you are up on a murder charge, you would not be asked to give evidence three months in advance of the court case. Everybody, no matter who they are, is entitled to fair play. To try and take that away from any citizen was undemocratic and unjust and something I just could not sign up to. Nothing has really changed since the allegation against my father were first raised five months ago, apart from the fact that the media seem to have got a hold of it and developed it into a bit of a frenzy.

They hyped it up in the minds of the public. I always feel there is a huge responsibility on the media. The media has the ability to influence public opinion. We have now reached the situation where this particular issue has become a massive one where it has almost developed into a crisis for the Government.

It is hard to know why that is the case, however. The Commissioner is outside the responsibility of the Government. He has no part in the formation of a programme for the Government. The Government has no ability to sack him or, in fact, to do anything about him. Yet the matter is being made to seem like a Government issue.

The most appropriate way of dealing with it is outside the remit of the Government. There is a Tribunal set up to deal with these issues. The Tribunal should be let get on with it, and the Government should get on with its job. If that had happened, it would have allowed the Government to remain stable.

It would appear it is going to remain an issue, and an issue that will have to be resolved. There is no question about that. What we are really talking about is a timing issue, but people in the media are not prepared to wait for due process to take place. They want to jump the gun. The reason that is happening has nothing to do with logic. It has nothing to do with justice, and it has nothing to do with getting at the truth. It is just political expediency. Unfortunately, that has no boundary.

I accept the opinion that a simple statement by Padraig Flynn could defuse the situation, and I accept people find it hard to understand why he is not making a statement. But the reason they are feeling that way is because of the hype and the slant taken by the media.

I think if people were to sit down and think very, very seriously about the matter, what you have is two people with a different version of events. Those events are conflicting and the reason the Tribunal was set up was to deal with those kind of issues. As we have seen with the Flood Tribunal to date, there has been so much legal wrangle over who will be interviewed and when, who will be cross examined and when, what information the different sides are entitled to.

It is not just as simple a thing as my father making a statement. Unfortunately it is not as straight forward as that. If it was, my father would have made a statement a long time ago. People have to recognise why tribunals were set up in the first place. My father has always felt that if and when he is called to the Tribunal that he will co-operate fully with it. That is his position.

Because of the media hype, An Taoiseach himself stepped outside the Tribunal to make a statement. He did so because he was felt he would not be able to continue his job in Government without being harassed daily in the Dail. Once that standard was established, he felt he had to follow on and ask for a statement from the Commissioner.

I would have preferred, and I would have thought it was the correct procedure, even in An Taoiseach's case, for everything to be left to the Tribunal and for the members to get on with the job we were elected to do as parliamentarians, and for the Tribunal, which was very costly on the taxpayer, to get on with its task and reach its conclusions as quickly as possible.

It was disappointing that the opposition party saw an opening in the Dail last Wednesday and went for it. Pat Rabbitte said on radio on Thursday morning and said that the only motive behind the motion was to take out a deputy. If anybody thinks the idea of the Fine Gael motion was getting to the truth, they are sadly mistaken.

That motion was about trying to put me in a very difficult position, and thereby put the Government in a very difficult position by taking out a deputy. Unfortunately, that's what they did. But I don't believe that kind of politics serves the people well. It certainly does not serve Dail Eireann well.

The whole thing was a very cynical exercise and, in the minds of the public, it is hard not to see why they are so cynical about politicians when they see so much Dail time being wasted in a way that does not benefit anybody.

In my speech in the Dail last Wednesday, I made it very clear where I was coming from. Ideally I would have hoped that the Fianna Fail party would have taken a view that, at all costs, they must keep me within the parliamentary party. Being a member of Fianna Fail is my entire tradition, and I have always felt very strongly about the party.

Following the events of Wednesday, I felt wrecked and exhausted. I was so upset at being forced into the situation that I was. It was a devastated thing for me personally, and it was my own party that put me in that position.

I would have liked if my party had left matters to the Tribunal out of respect for a man who had served Fianna Fail for 30 years and, in his entire career, this was the only time that an allegation had been made against him. It is an untried allegation at this stage and he has stated he will co-operate fully with the Tribunal. I found it very difficult to accept that, in those circumstances, the Fianna Fail party would call for a statement from him at this time. I also found it difficult to accept that, given that I was a Dail Deputy, that my party could accommodate the P.D.s and independents and could find no place for me.

Having said that, I am a member of Fianna Fail and still have the same political philosophy as I had last week. While I was upset with what happened in the Dail on Wednesday, it is my intention to support the Government in the foreseeable future. That's the way I see it.

My future is with Fianna Fail. Unfortunately because of the way I voted, I am expelled from the parliamentary party. That might be for a very short period. I don't know. But it is only the parliamentary party from which I am expelled. I am still entitled to attend local Cumann and Comhairle Ceanntair meetings. As I understand it, I can still stand as a Fianna Fail candidate in next June's local elections in Castlebar. It is my intention to do that.

It has been said that I have taken more knocks and suffered more setback in a relatively short period since being elected in 1997 than many have taken in their entire careers. But I suppose I could regard it as being great experience in one way. I have had to take on huge pressure from the media since becoming a member of Dail Eireann over a year and a half ago. While it was very difficult in the short term, it will stand to me in the long term. But there are a lot of things I could have done without. Politics is a very tough business, however. Very difficult things are asked of you. Sometimes the spotlight is put on you just because you are in politics and for no other reason.

Sadly that is the nature of the business. It is not always fair. You have to be made of tough stuff to go into politics. I hope that I am. I have no doubt that this period will pass, and that there will be brighter days ahead for me.

Allegations regarding my time with the National Irish Bank have been brought up at different times, and I have no problem talking about those allegations. My position is very clear. I issued many statements to explain my position when the allegation first arose.

Without any doubt, the issue is black and white as far as I am concerned. I have always taken that view with this and other situations. At the present time, I have a legal action against RTE and I am hoping it will come up shorting in the High Court in Dublin. From that point of view, I cannot say more about it. But I am confident the outcome of that action will be a successful one, and that would be a great thing if it happens.

I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories as far as the media is concerned, but the spotlight was shone unfairly on me in the NIB case. I was one person doing a job which 12 other people were doing. But there has not been a mention of anybody else. The reason for that was because I was a public representative. It's a simple as that. You do become a target of the media at times. But when you have right on your side, you don't have anything to worry about. I walk around with very little worry on my shoulders. All of my experiences have been a strengthening thing for me. I have been very upset at times, no question about that. There have been some very black days for me. I would not be human if I did not experience them.

But it is very important that it all works out well for me. I am confident that it will work out. When people look at me, I hope they see a person who is prepared to take a stand for what she believes in, a person who sticks with her family and a person who sticks with what she believed to be right. I hope that's the kind of public representative people will be proud of. It's the type of person that I am and it is the only way that I know how to operate.

Time is the ultimate thing that will sort out all the doubts that have been raised about me. Thankfully I have always been a positive person and an optimist. I am the world's greatest optimist. I have had to be in dealing with some of the situations which have come before me. But there have been moments when I have either been shocked or horrified. Sometimes it is hard to see where some people are coming from.

At the end of the day, I know what is right. I just get on with my life. I don't sit around and mope. I try not to let things get me down and, thankfully, they have not. And I hope in the future they won't. I actually love the job I am doing. People often say to me, in view of the experiences I have had, why would anybody bother going into politics. It is a difficult thing for a young person to take on. But I love what I am doing. That is the kernel of the issue as far as I am concerned. I like the fact I am out meeting people. I actually enjoy clinics. I like the fact that my week is very full and I am busy doing things all the time.

When I started off somebody said to me they hoped I was not reluctant because a reluctant politician is a misery. I know at this stage that I am not reluctant. I like the job and I just get on with it.

The support from people of Mayo since last Wednesday has been phenomenal. My telephone has never stopped ringing. It has been non-stop. When I went out to lunch with my mother last Thursday, I turned off my mobile phone and I had 43 missed calls in something like an hour and a half. It has been extraordinary, and the support has come from all over the county and not just from Castlebar.

My father and I were out and about in Castlebar over the weekend, and the support has been tremendous from the people. This has been a great personal lift to me. It helps when you know there is a lot of support for what I did.

There was also support for me in the Dail. It was lovely to think that my colleagues thought enough of me that between the two votes on Wednesday, they actually brought me for a drink knowing that I was going to vote against the Government. They accepted my position that I had no alternative and that I was definitely doing the right thing. They showed great solidarity. One of my colleagues, Denis Foley from Kerry, insisted in sitting with me right up to the point where I went to vote against the Government. That kind of friendship from your colleagues is marvellous. I have also a very good friend in Michael Collins from Limerick who has been very helpful to me since I became a TD. It was heartening that so many of my colleagues wished me well.

I spoke with An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, on Thursday morning when I voted with the Government on another issue. He called me back, shook my hand, and said:"Beverley, I suppose I will have to thank you for turning up!"

Technically, because I am an independent, they are happy when they see me turning up. Mr. Ahern is a very professional man, and he has gone on the record as saying that my position was very difficult. He understood that and knew it from the start. He has a job to keep the Government working in office, and I sincerely hope the Government runs its full term.

Why on earth should there be a General Election. We have just had one of the must successful budgets ever and the economy is doing very well. Everybody is happy. There is peace in Northern Ireland. This Government has a fantastic record. Why should we upset that because the opposition is putting a bit a pressure on the Government due to some unfounded allegations?

From my own personal point of view, things can only get better and they will. I started off with marvellous enthusiasm when I was first elected. I have had a tough time since then. But I am going to stick with the task in hand and I am confident of better days ahead for me.

(In an interview with Tom Kelly, Deputy Editor)

Connaught Telegraph - News & Sport - February 1999