The chairman of the Mahon tribunal yesterday rejected what he said had been an "unprecedented" attack on the tribunal by counsel for the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.
Judge Alan Mahon said the inference that the tribunal had interfered in the democratic process by circulating documentation prior to the general election was "absolutely and categorically rejected".
On Monday counsel for Mr Ahern, Conor Maguire SC, made a statement in which he criticised both the tribunal and Tom Gilmartin, a witness who has made disputed allegations against Mr Ahern.
Yesterday Judge Mahon said Mr Maguire had used an opportunity to respond to an opening statement on the Quarryvale module "as an opportunity to launch a wide-ranging and unprecedented attack on the tribunal".
He said the circulation of confidential documentation concerning Mr Ahern in April was done in accordance with long-established procedures. "To withhold circulation would not have been justified simply because of a risk of unauthorised disclosure."
The circulation of information, including on occasion very sensitive information, was an essential prerequisite to the commencement of a module.
"The inference that the tribunal rushed to circulate documentation and to proceed to public hearing other than for the purposes of fulfilling its mandate, and in so doing undermined the democratic process, is a particularly serious allegation to level against the tribunal.
"The tribunal is an independent body established by the Oireachtas to conduct its inquiries and thereafter report its findings to the Oireachtas and any such inference is absolutely and categorically rejected."
He said it was a matter of grave concern to the tribunal that counsel for any party would make a submission that clearly imputed bias, lack of impartiality and improper motivation to the members of the tribunal.
"In all its dealings with Mr Ahern the tribunal has always endeavoured to treat Mr Ahern, in his capacity as a witness, in exactly the same way as it would treat any other witness."
The chairman said it was "entirely unreasonable and blatantly untrue to state that the tribunal has failed to take any steps to investigate leaked information.
Mr Maguire knows perfectly well that the tribunal last autumn and in the months that followed conducted its own internal investigation, sought information from those persons who it assumed to have sight of the letter in question, and proceeded against the editor and a senior journalist in The Irish Timesin an effort to identify the source of the leaked letter.
"These legal proceedings are now listed for hearing in the High Court in July. What more can the tribunal do?"
The chairman said the tribunal was "not allowed to use physical torture on witnesses to find out if in fact they have disclosed material".
He said Mr Maguire's suggestion that the tribunal had put enormous effort into an "entirely separate excursion" into Mr Ahern's affairs was an erroneous statement.
Mr Gilmartin had made serious allegations against Mr Ahern.
"The tribunal has therefore found it necessary to probe and to only probe those significant lodgments that appear in Mr Ahern's accounts and which are not accounted for by his income. How can it possibly be suggested that the tribunal should or can do otherwise?"
The accounts of many elected councillors and politicians and developers and others had been subjected to similar scrutiny.
Judge Mahon said the issue of the credibility of Mr Gilmartin had been raised by Mr Maguire, who had referred to one minority opinion in the Supreme Court.
The chairman said no decision had been made by the courts or the tribunal concerning the credibility of Mr Gilmartin. "It is an issue that will be dealt with in due course by the tribunal." He said that if Mr Maguire believed there was any substance in any of the allegations against the tribunal, he knew that the appropriate venue to air such grievances was the courts.
