Ahern: I had no dealings with B/T account

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has told the Mahon Tribunal that the mysterious 'B/T account' was not opened for him and he never lodged money into it or took money out of it.

The Irish Permanent account is one of several linked to Mr Ahern and his constituency office which are being investigated by the tribunal.

Mr Ahern and a number of his associates have told the tribunal that B/T stands for building trust and the account was set up to fund the upkeep of St Luke's in Drumcondra.

It was found that IR£30,000 from the account was loaned to Celia Larkin in the 1990s so she could buy a house for her elderly aunts, but she only repaid the sum recently when the tribunal began looking into the matter.

Today, tribunal counsel Des O'Neill said the inquiry was investigating if Mr Ahern had any personal interest in the account and if the monies in it were used for his benefit.

The former Taoiseach said: "The account was not opened for me, I never lodged a cent or a penny into it and never took a cent or a penny out of it".