‘I have no interest in personal gain or benefit and never had’
Mr Ahern rejected claims by developer Tom Gilmartin that he had received monies from Cork builder Owen O’Callaghan relating to the Quarryvale lands.
“I have been the subject to an unprecedented attack on my integrity and honesty,” he said.
A packed public gallery at Dublin Castle heard Mr Ahern tell judges that during his 30 years in politics, he was never once offered money for political favours.
“I have endeavoured to serve the country to my utmost, I have no interest in personal gain or benefit and never had,” said Mr Ahern.
Wholly false allegations were levied against him, the tribunal heard, including claims he had £15 million in Bank of Ireland in Jersey.
Sitting in the witness box, Mr Ahern said nobody had ever given evidence to the tribunal that he had been paid a sum of $45,000. Nobody in AIB had recalled such a lodgment, he said, because there never had been one.
“After 10 years of inquiries there’s no evidence I did anything wrong or engaged in any corrupt practice, this is not surprising as I never took a bribe or abused the public trust,” he added.
Somebody was trying to do the “maximum damage”, judges were told as Mr Ahern continued his statement.
The Taoiseach revealed he had hired Paddy Stronge, former chief operating officer of Bank of Ireland corporate banking, who had found no evidence to show $45,000 was lodged on Mr Ahern’s behalf.
This suggestion, still under tribunal investigation, was “explosive” when leaked to the media on the eve of the election, the Taoiseach said.
Mr Ahern maintains the money in question, which was lodged to the AIB branch on Dublin’s O’Connell Street in December 1994, was about stg£30,000.
A suggestion it was dollars was a “red herring” and could have been destructive for Fianna Fáil, the inquiry heard. The Taoiseach said the sum of IR£25,000 lodged into his account in October 1994, was also not all sterling but only in part made up of about stg£8,000, collected at a dinner in Manchester.
Another IR£16,500 was collected from friends and held in his constituency office safe the same year.
This was paid back with interest to his friends last year.
Mr Ahern described his financial dealings with businessman Michael Wall, whose house he had rented and eventually bought.
Mr Wall had given him the stg£30,000 to refurbish the property, Mr Ahern said. But after Mr Ahern failed to be made taoiseach in late 1994, he decided not to buy the house and looked at property elsewhere.
He says he changed punts into stg£30,000 to give back to Mr Wall. Mr Ahern still has not been able to trace where this transaction took place.
Mr Ahern stressed yesterday he had to defend his “integrity” and make the statement after being criticised for not supplying exact details relating to payments.
