FIANNA FÁIL yesterday dismissed as "completely without foundation" reports that the manner in which Beverley Flynn was readmitted to the party went against the wishes of Tánaiste Brian Cowen.
The spokesman for Fianna Fáil said yesterday that there was no basis to a Sunday newspaper article, which claimed that Mr Cowen told Taoiseach Bertie Ahern that the timing of Ms Flynn's return to the party was wrong.
The conversation was reported to have taken place on the margins of the national executive meeting at which Mr Ahern proposed that she be readmitted. The proposal was unanimously accepted.
The meeting took place on the same day that Mr Ahern announced he would be stepping down as Taoiseach next month.
Sources close to Mr Ahern and to Mr Cowen separately dismissed the reports yesterday, saying no such conversations took place.
Ms Flynn applied to be readmitted to Fianna Fáil only a matter of hours before the national executive meeting took place on April 3rd. Her application for readmission was not on the official agenda of the meeting.
Asked on RTÉ if she had submitted the letter on the actual day of the meeting, Ms Flynn replied: "I put in my letter of application to be dealt with by the national executive and I am very happy."
Speaking at the time, Mr Ahern said of the Mayo TD's readmission: "It was the appropriate time for her to come back." Ms Flynn was not available for comment yesterday.
A member of Fianna Fáil's national executive told The Irish Times yesterday that Ms Flynn's application was not on the agenda but added there was no great surprise that the issue came up at that particular meeting.
The member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that everybody knew that Mr Ahern had done a deal with Ms Flynn and that her only issue was discharging her debt to RTÉ.
Meanwhile, a founding member of the Progressive Democrats criticised the party for a decision in February not to allow one of the candidates for the leadership of the party to issue a statement critical of Mr Ahern.
Speaking on TV3's The Political Party, Paul MacKay, a trustee of the party, claimed that the statement by Ciarán Cannon was "spiked" because it would have proved an embarrassment for the then leader Mary Harney with Fianna Fáil in government.
However, Mr Cannon, the new party leader, said last Wednesday that he did not agree that his statement was spiked - rather, he withdrew it after consultation with other party members.
