The Planning Tribunal is threatening further political embarrassment for Bertie Ahern. The tribunal is in crisis because of the disclosure that it misled the High Court earlier this year on, potentially, an explosive issue, and because it has emerged that for years the tribunal was acting illegally, abusing the constitutional rights of persons appearing before it.

Village has submitted the following questions to the Planning Tribunal. At the time of going to print no response was forthcoming. In the event that the tribunal does respond to the questions we will publish the response in full in the next issue of Village.

One of the concerns there are about the off-the-record discussions during private interviews arises from what is known about the on-the-record discussions. The following is part of one of the transcripts arising from one of the interviews between two barristers then representing the tribunal, Pat Hanratty SC and John Gallagher SC, and Frank Dunlop, who was accompanied by his own counsel, Senan Allen.

In a series of phone conversations with the former Minister for the Environment, Padraigh Flynn in in1998, Tom Gilmartin (according to Padraigh Flynn, apparently authenticated by contemporaneous notes made by the latter of these conversations) made certain admissions about a crucial change in his evidence. He had previously stated that the £50,000 he had given to Padraigh Flynn in the autumn of 1989 was for Mr Flynn's own purposes. He subsequently changed his evidence, claiming that the money was intended for Fianna Fail.

The acknowledgement that private interviews were recorded is potentially terminal for the tribunal . In his judgement on 27 April last on an application by Hazel Lawlor, widow of Liam Lawlor, for a “stay” on the present hearings of the Mahon Tribunal , a judge of the High Court, Iarfhlaith O'Neill, noted: “The Court was told that apart from a tape-recording made by Mr Noel Smith, solicitor, of an interview with a client of his (Tom Gilmartin) and which was furnished to the Tribunal , no other electronic recording was made or kept by the tribunal ”.

There remains a suspicion that the discussions with Fianna Fail and the Greens is a smokescreen. The areas of disagreement seem too great for there to be any prospect of agreement (for instance, co-location of private and public hospitals and the use of Shannon by US troops). But more critically, it is unlikely Fianna Fail will agree to be dependent on a party which is controlled by its volatile (from the Fianna Fail perspective) membership.

It wasn't just the Progressive Democrats who fared dismally in Election 2007. So too did the Labour Party, which saw a fall in its share of the national vote and its worst electoral performance in 18 years. In 2002 it won 10.8 per cent of the national vote, this time it won just 10.1 per cent. No other party, aside from the Progressive Democrats, saw a fall in its vote share.

Enda Kenny spoke to Vincent Browne about his inexperience of government and his capacity to be a credible Taoiseach.

Fianna Fail could get an overall majority in Thursday's election. The chances may be against the party achieving this but it now cannot be ruled out. By Vincent Browne

Bertie Ahern won the debate in the judgment of the majority of people who contacted RTE radio last night. The margin was about two to one, writes Vincent Browne.