Taoiseach admits he was warned about Burke

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has confirmed he was warned about suspected serious corruption linked to Ray Burke prior to appointing him a Minister.

The warning came from former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, who repeated his claims last night.

However, Bertie Ahern says all matters surrounding the controversy have been examined in full by the Flood Tribunal. Ahern was speaking at Cork airport after a meeting with farmers regarding the Nice Treaty.

The rumours centre on a file containing details of how passport investments were handled.

Albert Reynolds refused to appoint Burke to his cabinet because of the rumours but Ahern said the matter was investigated. He said while the file in question did contain some peculiarities it had not set off alarm bells about Burke. He says if he felt Burke was corrupt he would not have appointed him to his cabinet.