Brennan awaits report of inquiries

TRANSPORT Minister Seamus Brennan must wait until tomorrow to learn the outcome of two separate inquiries into claims that he left unpaid brandy and cigars bills totalling €6,000.

Government officials last night said that so far no documentation or other information had been turned up to support the allegations against Mr Brennan published in a newspaper last Sunday.

An inquiry by the airport authority, Aer Rianta, will continue today with auditors interviewing the last few remaining executives.

A separate investigation by the Transport Department secretary general, Julie O’Neill, is near completion but some details remain to be finalised.

The reports from unnamed sources said that the bill from Aer Rianta dated from the late 1980s or early 1990s, a time when Mr Brennan was the minister responsible for transport in a government headed by Charles Haughey.

On Tuesday Mr Brennan categorically denied the allegations, saying that he had no recollection of ever ordering, authorising or receiving exclusive brandy and cigars worth IR£5,000 (€6,000) at that time.

The Taoiseach said he accepted his Transport Minister’s statement but would await the outcome of the two investigations before pronouncing on the matter.

In the departmental inquiry Ms O’Neill must await replies to specific questions forwarded by the department to Aer Rianta.

These in turn may have to be checked against any documentation which is held by the department.

Originally, Mr Brennan said the inquiries could take two weeks.

But on Tuesday Mr Ahern more than halved that timescale to a matter of days.

Officials last night hoped the probes could be finalised by tomorrow provided all questions are answered.

“Ideally, we do not want the matter carrying on into the weekend if that is possible,” one source said.