In his own words: the house that Bertie bought

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern begins his statement outlining the background and stressing he has “never received money from any person or company for any improper purpose”.

He goes on to say that the allegations made against him at the Mahon Tribunal by property developer Tom Gilmartin are false and malicious.

He proceeds to his personal finances, summarising that “there is no pattern over many years or decades in high office of unexplained financial transactions” and adds: “My life-style is as simple as it is honest. There was and is no vast wealth and no high life-style.” He describes the recent leaks as malicious and says he has no doubt “that the motivation behind these leaks is political”, being published “in an effort to discredit me and to damage Fianna Fáil”. He then goes into detail about the eventual purchase of his house at Beresford. An edited version of this follows: