McDowell should stop the smear and answer Bertie questions
– Gormley accuses cowardly PD Leader of avoiding him and challenges him to debate
The Green Party has called on Michael McDowell to stop his smear campaign against the Green Party and answer questions about his knowledge of Bertie Ahern’s financial arrangements. Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD challenged the PD Leader to a debate on these issues. He claimed McDowell had avoided appearances on any TV or radio station with him over the last five years.
Deputy Gormley said: “Since the beginning of this election campaign, Michael McDowell has engaged in a smear campaign against the Green Party. He has issued leaflets in my constituency which have no basis in fact and he has refused totally to engage in any debate with me when challenged to do so. If he is so sure of his ground, then he should be prepared to defend his outrageous claims.
“Instead of engaging in smear tactics and negative campaigning, McDowell ought to clarify exactly what he knew about the Taoiseach’s very strange financial arrangements. In particular he should answer the following questions:
- Did he know about the €30,000 that Michael Wall gave to the Taoiseach’s former partner, Celia Larkin?
- Was he given to understand that Ms. Larkin was operating a bank account for the Taoiseach?
- When the Taoiseach failed to disclose this last autumn, why did McDowell also choose to stay silent on this important piece of information?
“Above all else, there is one central question that he needs to respond to – why has he not kept an eye on Fianna Fáil, as he promised to do when he climbed up the infamous lamppost with the ‘One party government – no thanks’ poster in 2002? People are genuinely disappointed in his performance and the fact that he has reneged on this commitment to maintain high standards in government. McDowell has been taking pot-shots at the Greens and then running away. It’s time he stood his ground and stopped acting the coward.”