£5,000 was a ‘political donation’
The evidence of Chris McHugh, former NCB finance director, supports that given to the tribunal earlier this week by his former boss at the stockbroking firm, Padraic O’Connor.
Both men say the Taoiseach has given a conflicting account of the payment — the so-called “dig out” of £22,500 he maintains “close friends” gave him to pay a legal bill associated with his marital separation.
NCB founder, financier Dermot Desmond, asked Mr McHugh to join him in IIU — a private company that manages Mr Desmond’s investments — in 1995. In 1993, when the payment to Mr Ahern was requested, Mr Desmond was chairman of NCB.
Asked if he mentioned the payment to Mr Desmond, Mr McHugh replied: “Certainly not — Mr O’Connor worked for Mr Desmond; I worked for Mr O’Connor.”
Payments to Mr Ahern, then being probed behind closed doors by the tribunal, spilled into the public arena in September 2006.
Mr McHugh said he remembered Mr O’Connor telling him towards the end of 1993 the company was being asked for a donation to help fund the Taoiseach’s constituency operation.
He remembered the matter because the request was unusual: “Padraic was concerned about confidentiality. It was unusual, but nobody objected to it. It’s 14 years ago — I don’t recall the full conversation. He (Mr O’Connor) was inclined to do it. I went along with it.”
He said Mr O’Connor told him and fellow director Graham O’Brien there had been an approach from Fianna Fáil fundraiser Des Richardson. Witness had been told Mr Ahern had been appointed party national treasurer and did not have the time to do his own fundraising and three or four parties were being asked for a donation totalling £15,000 to £20,000.
The tribunal has heard how NCB routed the payment through a company associated with Mr Richardson and that Mr O’Connor and senior colleagues processed a bogus invoice from Euro Workforce Ltd.
The invoice — for £5,000 plus VAT amounting to £6,050 — claimed to be for a health and safety survey of NCB’s Mount Street offices, but no such work was done, the tribunal heard.
When Judge Gerald Keys asked who chose what company invoice was going to be used to raise the document, Mr McHugh said he had “no part in that” and he didn’t think Graham O’Brien — then financial controller — had either.
Mr O’Brien is due to give evidence next Wednesday.
After Judge Keys said somebody had to ask Euro Workforce — the company named on the invoice used — for their notepaper or something, Mr McHugh replied: “I presume that was Mr O’Connor.”
Asked to recall what happened in 1993, Mr McHugh said there was some discussion among the senior colleagues about Mr Richardson’s request and it was felt if NCB didn’t make the contribution some other stockbroking firm would.
Mr O’Connor, he said, wanted to keep the contribution confidential but there was no mention of it being a personal donation for Mr Ahern.
About a year ago Mr McHugh said Mr O’Connor phoned him at his office and asked him “out of the blue” for his recollection of events. He said he became aware Mr Ahern was in conflict with the account given by Mr O’Connor when news of the payment was revealed on television and in the newspapers last autumn.
Questioned by tribunal lawyer Henry Murphy, SC, if he had discussed the matter with Mr O’Connor afterwards, Mr McHugh said he did not have a substantial conversation with him because both were tribunal witnesses. Both Mr O’Connor and Mr McHugh were interviewed privately in the weeks following the public disclosure of the payments to Mr Ahern.
Asked about his recent contacts with Mr O’Connor, the witness said he had met him three weeks ago and he had a brief conversation. “Mr O’Connor didn’t want to engage any of his conversation on it, I didn’t want to engage any conversation on it,” he said.
He had lunch with Mr O’Connor last April and three other people but he didn’t remember any specific conversation on the matter.
Former lobbyist Frank Dunlop, who alleges bribing politicians to vote to rezone land for a west Dublin development at Quarryvale, is listed to resume his testimony on Tuesday.
