The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is expected to be recalled by the Moriarty tribunal to clarify the circumstances in which he countersigned blank cheques for up to £100,000, drawn on the party leader's account between 1989 and 1991.
Evidence given to the tribunal last June by Mr Ahern and by the person who administered the account, Ms Eileen Foy, suggested that the signing of blank cheques in advance occurred infrequently; the cheques were later filled out by the party leader. Ms Foy also confirmed that supporting documentation would have been present when Mr Charles Haughey signed the cheques.
Since then, however, the tribunal has discovered a considerable number of cheques of which Mr Ahern has no recollection, but which carry his signature.
In particular, the tribunal will want to know about a cheque for £25,000 which ended up in Mr Haughey's personal account; two cheques amounting to £16,000 which were used to buy French francs for the purchase of shirts in Paris; two cheques for cash, amounting to £26,000, which went to pay debts incurred by Mr John Ellis TD, who was threatened with bankruptcy; and cheques which were used to pay some of Mr Lenihan's medical expenses.
The tribunal is anxious to establish the origin of £220,000 paid into the party leader's account in 1989 in addition to State funding. Some £82,528 of this was used to pay Mr Lenihan's medical expenses and the tribunal is exploring how much of the remaining £140,000, if any, may have been intended for the medical fund.
Records concerning the party leader's account have gone missing within Fianna Fail.
Last Wednesday, the Moriarty tribunal indicated that it would re-examine the manner in which the accounts had been operated in the light of new information. It is understood that Ms Foy was re called for private discussions with the tribunal lawyers last month.
The tribunal is also anxious to hear from Mr Haughey's personal assistant from those years, Ms Catherine Butler. She is understood to be preparing a statement and is expected to be called to give evidence at a later stage. She, rather than Ms Foy, was contacted by the Irish Embassy in Washington in connection with payment of Mr Lenihan's medical expenses.