Ahern may face 'no confidence' motion
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern could face the first motion of no confidence in his career over a controversy surrounding his financial affairs in the 1990s.
Opposition leaders have questioned the credibility of Mr Ahern who told the Mahon Tribunal he is unable to recall key personal bank transactions while he was Finance Minister and later Opposition leader.
In a significant move, Labour party leader Eamon Gilmore today called for Mr Ahern to resign over the issue.
Fine Gael is also considering tabling a motion of no confidence in the Taoiseach when the Dail returns from its summer recess tomorrow.
A Labour spokesman said the party will wait until after Leaders’ Questions tomorrow afternoon before making a final decision on any prospective motion of no confidence.
The Fine Gael frontbench team is meeting at 11am to consider Mr Ahern’s four days of evidence to the Mahon Tribunal and decide its next course of action.
The Taoiseach yesterday told the Mahon Tribunal that he cannot remember driving his former partner Celia Larkin to a Dublin bank in 1995 to pick up a parcel of £50,000 cash.
Ms Larkin had earlier given evidence that she recalled Mr Ahern driving her to the AIB branch.
Mr Ahern also told the Tribunal that a mathematical formula put forward by his legal team to demonstrate that a £30,000 lodgement was in sterling and not dollars has now been shown to be wrong.
The Taoiseach’s partners in government, the Greens and the Progressive Democrats, have so far supported Mr Ahern.
The Green Party’s Minister of State Trevor Sargent said: “It behoves all of us to have sufficient patience to allow the tribunal to complete its work rather than jumping to conclusions.”
Finance Minister and Tánaiste Brian Cowen also insisted Mr Ahern had the full support of his Government colleagues.
“The Taoiseach has no intention of resigning. He obtained a mandate a few short months ago to lead this government into his third term and he has the support of his colleagues on that,” Mr Cowen said.
“I have every confidence we will vote down any vote of no confidence should it emerge.”
Under Dáil rules, a motion of no confidence can only be tabled once every six months.
“It is the ultimate sanction against a government,” commented an Opposition source.
“It is used very rarely so it can have significant impact. It’s very much a nuclear option.”
It will be first motion of no confidence in the current Taoiseach, who has been head of government for a decade.
Previous motions were tabled against former Taoiseach Charles Haughey in the early 1990s.
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