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Allegations that many of Ireland's top business and political figures were part of a multi-million-pound
tax evasion scam are set to dominate the Dublin parliament when it ends its summer break this week. Opposition party leaders signalled their continuing anger over the tax charges today amid increasing calls for the publication of a document listing the 120 people alleged to be caught up in the affair. Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and his government maintained their insistence that legal restraints prevented them from making the list public. But Mr Ahern and other ministers also made clear their view that anyone found guilty of tax evasion should face jail sentences on conviction. The government signalled how seriously it regarded the affair last week by successfully applying to the Irish High Court for the appointment of inspectors into the allegations. The document at the heart of the controversy contains the names of people who allegedly held secret foreign-based accounts with the Ansbacher (Cayman) Bank in the 1980s in order to avoid paying tax at home. Mr Ahern's predecessor as head of government, Fine Gael opposition leader John Bruton, today repeated demands for the publication of the list, citing public outrage over the issue and the possible consequences for efforts to set up a new national agreement for pay in the public sector, based on moderate wage settlements. He declared: "As long as this is hanging in the air, it is going to pollute the atmosphere of industrial relations in Ireland. "Mr Ahern should move to amend the legislation when the Dail meets again on Wednesday to permit publication of the list." Mr Bruton added: "Anybody who is a tax evader should be exposed and suffer the penalties for it." Irish Labour Party leader Ruairi Quinn, like Mr Ahern and Mr Bruton a one-time Finance Minister in Dublin, said: "There is a tide of mounting anger and rage over this right across the country, that these criminals were able to engage in this kind of activity. "These people are not tax evaders, they are criminals, they defrauded the taxpayer. The country is in uproar about this." |
