Ahern refuses to review all decisions made by Burke as a minister

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern refused yesterday to review all decisions made by former disgraced Fianna Fáil Minister Ray Burke.

Following Albert Reynolds revelations that he asked the Taoiseach to check out Ray Burke’s handling of a £20 million passport-for-sale scheme, it emerged yesterday that former Justice Minister Máire Geoghegan-Quinn was also alarmed and concerned about the case.

A memo she left on the Department of Justice file about the Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfous case stated: “I have serious concerns about the granting of naturalisation to the 11 persons in this case. If full, thorough and satisfactory answers are not available, I am of the view that the certificates of naturalisation should if possible be revoked in each of the 11 cases.”