Uncertainty over whether the former Taoiseach, Mr Reynolds, will be asked to take on the position of chairman at troubled Bula Resources is par for the course for developments in that company over the past few years. Readers will recall that for a year or so after the former chairman, Jim Stanley, resigned and disappeared to Russia, the identity of the owner of the British Virgin Islands company, Mir Oil Development Ltd, was at the heart of a mystery that occupied the company's many shareholders, the stock exchange, and a government-appointed inspector, Lyndon MacCann. Mr Stanley had told the board that the company was owned by a South African businessman, but this was not true.

Last July, Mr MacCann reported that Mir was in fact owned by Mr Stanley, but that was not before Craig Bond, son of the disgraced Australian tycoon, Alan Bond, had come forward claiming ownership. Now the company, which is in a bit of a shambles, is thinking that the former Taoiseach's links with Iraq and Libya would be of help in securing some valuable exploration licences in those countries. One thing is for sure; if the arrangement does go ahead, and Mr Reynolds becomes chairman of the Bula board, he should be wary of using that phrase with which he is much associated: my word is my bond.