26th November 2003

PRESS RELEASE

GREEN PARTY WELCOMES CAB MOVE ON BURKE

The Green Party has welcomed the CAB’s decision to serve a €2 million tax bill on disgraced former Fianna Fáil Minister, Ray Burke. Green Party Justice spokesperson, Ciarán Cuffe TD, said today,  “This is a substantial sum of money and should send out a strong message to public servants and politicians.

“The readiness of the courts to jail those who protested against waste charges stands in stark contrast to the inertia and delays that have characterized the State’s pursuit of the wealthy and powerful. Hopefully today’s announcement by the Criminal Assets Bureau marks a change. I hope that white collar crime and political corruption will now be tackled seriously.”

“This development makes a mockery of Bertie Ahern’s criticism of  ‘the persistent hounding of an honourable man to resign his position on the basis of innuendo and unproven allegations."

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