The Moriarty report on the late Charles Haughey's financial affairs captured the total attention of the media. The report condemned the former Taoiseach on virtually all counts, accusing him of accepting payments of £9.12m between 1979 and 1996 in return for mostly unspecified favours. The sum involved is regularly converted into €45m "in today's money" but the Irish Independent went a stage further with the headline, "Haughey stole €45m".
While for the most part the tribunal failed to identify what Mr Haughey did in return for the money, Moriarty accused him of accepting £50k from a Saudi businessman in return for issuing 15 Irish passports to the man's Lebanese relatives. He was also accused of signalling that the Revenue Commissioners should reduce a potential tax bill for the Dunne family. The report went on to question the motives behind all Mr Haughey's political decisions.
- Allied Irish Bank was attacked for its firm denial to the Evening Press in 1983 that Mr Haughey had run up an overdraft of more than £1m. Various businessmen subsequently contributed to help bail the former Taoiseach out and the bank ultimately wrote off £393k.
- For many the most damning accusation was that Mr Haughey continued to seek donations to cover the cost of Brian Lenihan's liver transplant after sufficient was raised. The Tribunal claims that more than £265k was collected, but only £70k was required. Much of the excess, it was alleged, was "misappropriated.... for his personal use". The Lenihan family refuse to join in the condemnation, noting that their father's medical bills were taken care of in full. There was also an accusation that VHI broke its rules by contributing in excess of its guidelines towards the operation, which took place in the US.
- Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was mildly rebuked for signing blank cheques which allowed Mr Haughey to spend money from the leader's allowance account in whichever way he chose. It was this account which was used to pay personal bills at Dublin's Le Coq Hardi restaurant and to purchase Charvet shirts in Paris.
- Businessman Ben Dunne doesn't dispute the allegation that he gave more than £2m to Mr Haughey. He does insist, however, that he does not recollect making many of the payments. He has since repeatedly attacked the Tribunal for rejecting his evidence, for failing to seek information on his medical condition at the time, and for jumping to the wrong conclusion in relation to his meeting with Revenue chairman Séamus Paircéir. Mr Dunne reminded us that there was a time when he abused cocaine and he could not remember much of what he did while under the drug's influence.
- Financier Dermot Desmond also came out with all guns blazing when he attacked the tribunal. His financial contributions were more modest and made after Mr Haughey had left office. Despite the timing the tribunal believed it still had to investigate the transactions. It also rejected the claim that the money constituted a loan. Mr Desmond issued a statement in which he said, "I would like to thank the tribunal for exonerating me and finding that I received no favours from Charlie Haughey. I am sure the taxpayers are thrilled at the nine years and millions of euros in verifying the information which I issued in press statements in January 1998". Elsewhere he suggested that the legal team involved would have been fired long ago if they had worked in the private sector. The "delays" and "massive costs" involved were "inexcusable".
- The Haughey family described the report's findings as "perverse"; they particularly took exception to the claims about the Brian Lenihan Fund, the relationship with Ben Dunne and allegations about passports. They repeated the claim that the £50k paid by Sheikh Mahmoud Fustok was for the purchase of a yearling horse.
- Fianna Fáil politicians for the most part said nothing; Taoiseach Bertie Ahern regretted signing blank cheques and noted that he had initiated new systems leading to much tighter financial controls.
- Some of Mr Haughey's friends have tried to offset the report's findings by recalling the positive aspects of his political career.
- Opposition politicians used phrases such as "damning indictment" as they tried to spread the blame as far as possible within the Fianna Fáil party.
- The media was almost unanimous in its outrage at the behaviour of the former Taoiseach. The only exception, if I heard him correctly on RTÉ television, was Irish Times columnist John Waters. He argued that the Tribunal produced little evidence to support its many allegations, relying instead on assumptions and hypotheses.
