Rift widens as queries remain unresolved
While Mr Ahern yesterday confirmed to the Dáil that he had paid “full market value” for the house he bought from Micheál Wall in 1997, the crisis between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats was escalating last night.
It is believed that Mr McDowell was deeply unhappy when he heard of Mr Wall’s role in the affair on RTÉ on Wednesday night and refused to take Order of Business in the Dáil yesterday, a role normally performed by the Tánaiste.
Mr Ahern himself appeared in the Dáil yesterday morning and gave what was considered a credible account of the circumstances behind the purchase of his house. He said that he had rented it for two years from Mr Wall, a Manchester-based businessman before buying it from him in 1997 when he was Taoiseach. He said that he paid full market value.
However, Mr McDowell and the PDs had attached huge significance to the Taoiseach establishing the identities of the 25-27 people who had attended the Manchester dinner in 1994.
In the Dáil on Tuesday afternoon, the Taoiseach was in a position to name only three — the late Tim Kilroe, John Kennedy and Senator Tony Kett. But he did not name Micheál Wall, even though he had confirmed his presence at the hotel on RTÉ earlier that day.
The Taoiseach spoke to Mr Wall over the weekend, to confirm that he was in the hotel in a working capacity, using his coach minibus, but had not “eaten the dinner” with those who attended the event, nor had he contributed to the £8,000 collected.
The Tánaiste was conspicuous by his absence from the Dáil yesterday, a sign that the development had caused a major rift.
The Tánaiste, and 12 of the party’s 13 Oireachtas members were unavailable for comment yesterday on the serious strains that are now apparent in the party.
