Ahern bids to shift spotlight from financial affairs

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern tonight hoped the media spotlight would shift from his controversial financial affairs to his party’s manifesto being launched tomorrow.

The Fianna Fáil leader has been dogged by a stg£30,000 payment his ex-partner received in 1994 to revamp his rented house and for “stamp duty issues” he has refused to explain.

As Opposition demands for clarification mounted, Mr Ahern again insisted he will give a full explanation at the Mahon Tribunal, which is probing planning corruption, after the May 24 polling day.

He reiterated today after a whirlwind walkabout in central Dublin constituency: “I will attend the tribunal and answer all these questions.”

He told reporters tracking his campaign that they could see for themselves that voters were not concerned by the controversy.

“I’m going to answer all these things comprehensively within the tribunal. That’s it,” he added.

Referring to his party’s policies, he said: “If you want to deal with the issues about the General Election, I’ll deal with them.”

Mr Ahern’s Government partner, Progressive Democrats leader Michael McDowell, today repeated that he did not believe that issues dating back 13 years had any implications for how the State would be governed in 2007.

Cabinet members Finance Minister Brian Cowen and Communications Minister Noel Dempsey both insisted that it was not a major election issue on the canvass trail.

However, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte warned that only Mr Ahern can allay the “legitimate unease” felt by voters about his financial affairs by making a public statement.

He added: “The Fianna Fáil campaign is in some disarray.”

As well as tomorrow’s manifesto launch, Mr Ahern will be hoping his campaign will be boosted in coming days by high-profile engagements next week.

He will join Prime Minister Tony Blair and US politicians at the inauguration of the Northern Ireland power-sharing Assembly in Belfast on Tuesday and will accompany First Minister Dr Ian Paisley on a joint visit to the Battle of the Boyne site three days later.

He will hope to further distract attention from his financial affairs with an address to the joint Houses of Parliament in Westminster on May 15.

Mr Ahern has admitted that Manchester-based businessman Michael Wall, from whom he rented a house in the early 1990s, gave stg£30,000 to his ex-partner, Celia Larkin, to refurbish his rented house and for “stamp duty issues”.

He has refused to answer further questions on the matter.

In policy announcements, Fianna Fáil today pledged to make the social insurance system fairer by cutting the level of PRSI low earners have to pay.

Outside the capital, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny toured Cos Louth, Cavan and Monaghan constituencies while Mr Rabbitte and Trevor Sargent of the Greens canvassed in the capital.

Mr Kenny promised a fast-track programme to deliver 2,300 acute hospital beds during a visit to Drogheda.

Launching a Safe And Secure Communities document, Labour called for 1,500 new community police officers within three years to tackle issues like drugs and anti-social behaviour.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams met voters in Cos Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Cavan and Dublin as part of a nationwide canvass.

The party promised to scrap road tolls if in government, while the PDs published an environment policy.

In a series of daily cross-party spats, Communications Minister Mr Dempsey complained that Fine Gael election posters had been printed in Germany.

However, the Opposition party claimed one sixth of its 500,000 posters were sourced in Germany via a competitive tender process but the remainder were contracted to firms in the Republic and the North.