This debate so far has been characterised by a reluctance on the part of the Government to answer straight questions. The Government's strategy seems to be attack, attack and attack, as being the best form of defence.

The thrust of the attack has been directed at The Workers' Party, which is a measure of the extent to which questions we put have been relevant and caused embarrassment to the Government. I should like to thank the Labour Party for the generous support which was given here this morning by Deputy Stagg. It is good to know that we have allies.

This morning Deputy McDaid moaned about media bias but he then went on to quote from the same media a statement that members of The Workers' Party were not pursuing a libel action against the BBC. I should like to inform the pious Deputy McDaid, who appears to have more experience in court matters than I do, that in fact letters of claim have been issued by four members of The Workers' Party, including their leader, against the BBC--

Since last August and they have been acknowledged by the BBC. We then heard the lily-white Minister for Social Welfare following the example of his party leader and his discredited colleague, the Minister for Justice, launching yet another attempt to smear The Workers' Party. The Minister for Social Welfare knows a little about upstairs-downstairs activity and he would be far better off doing the job for which he is so generously paid by the taxpayer and attending to the affairs of his Department.
In the course of his speech to the Fianna Fil rd Fheis last March the Minister for Social Welfare said that an extra 20 million of taxpayers money would be saved in a new crackdown on PRSI-related fraud and that he would be ensuring employers complied with their PRSI obligations. I would like to ask the Minister to respond to very serious allegations which have already been drawn to his attention by my colleague, Deputy Eric Byrne, about the failure to initiate proceedings as recommended against an employer in County Leitrim. I particularly want to ask him if the failure to take action was due to the political connections of the employer concerned [1016] who, I am informed, is a brother of the general secretary of Fianna Fil. I understand that the employer in question who is based in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, was under observation by the Department of Social Welfare for two years for suspected false accounting and making false returns of PRSI. Last November the employer and his employees were interviewed and as a result of the information received, both the Revenue Commissioners and the social welfare officers involved pressed for prosecutions under four separate headings dealing with various breaches of social welfare legislation and regulations. I am informed however that no such action was taken.
I have in my possession a copy of the report of the investigating officer which was submitted to the supervisor of the special investigations unit of the Department of Social Welfare. The report gives details of the activities of the employer in question.

The document I have here gives details of the employer concerned. It talks of employees being paid 15 per day into their hands, no prescribed records being kept in respect of certain employees, incomplete records being kept in respect of others and wage details in respect of others being greatly understated. It also reports that the employer stated that his staff were paid by cash - employees subsequently admitted under questioning that they were actually paid by cheque, the significance of this being, of course, that there is a record of cheque payments.
The report recommended that prosecutions should be considered under four separate headings dealing with various breaches of social welfare legislation and regulations. Yet no action has been taken against Mr. Farrell, and certainly up to recently not one penny has been paid in respect of the outstanding under-payment. This House is entitled to an explanation from the Minister, Deputy Woods, why no action has been taken. I know that staff in the Department of Social Welfare and the Revenue Commissioners are furious at the way their work has been undermined, that having painstakingly built up a case against Mr. Farrell no action was taken. They are particularly angry that political pull has [1018] been used to protect this employer from prosecution. Why has no action been taken against Mr. Farrell? Social welfare recipients existing on 40 per week who might try to make a few extra pounds cleaning windows and who are not lucky enough to have a brother as general secretary of Fianna Fil are dealt with very harshly by the Department of Social Welfare.
We have heard much in recent weeks about the operation of the golden business circle, but there is another similar golden circle operating in the political arena which, it seems, can provide immunity from prosecution. The Minister, Deputy Woods, would be better off applying himself to answering these questions than to taking part in the kind of attack he launched on my party here this morning. Indeed, the time of this House might well be used if, instead of avoiding questions and transferring questions put to them in this House, the Minister and the Taoiseach were to answer those questions directly.
I recall, for example, that last February I put questions to the Taoiseach on the Carysfort issue but they were transferred to the Minister for Education, and then ruled out of order. I put another five questions to the Taoiseach in the last week and they too have been transferred to the Minister for Education. I certainly hope they will not be ruled out of order on this occasion.

