The Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrats Government was "clean" of any of the issues "thrown at us" this week, the Taoiseach told the Dail.

Dail business was adjourned for the debate following the article in The Irish Times yesterday alleging that around £10,000 was diverted from the ICC Bank account of a passport investor to a Fianna Fail account.

Mr Ahern said no money was diverted from any investment account into Fianna Fail accounts. He had no personal knowledge of the transaction in question, and nothing underhand, deceitful or criminal took place in the transfer of funds from the joint account to the Fianna Fail account. He added that he was not a beneficiary in any way of an ICC account and had never received money from a so-called passport investment account or any offshore accounts either.

Mr Ahern said two Americans had two investment accounts with ICC in 1991 with the intention of obtaining an Irish passport. A third account was opened jointly with an Irish businessman, Mr Brian O'Carroll.

In July 1993, Mr O'Carroll transferred £10,524.59 from the account in ICC. "I am assured by the account holder that this was not an investment account," Mr Ahern added.

The following is Mr Ahern's statement to the Dail:

My first knowledge of anything to do with this issue was on Friday night, 5th February, when a staff member asked me if I ever had an account in ICC or access to an account in ICC. He said that journalistic inquiries were being made to this effect.

I explained that I never had such an account or access to it, and that I was not aware of anyone in my family or in Fianna Fail who had access to such an account on my behalf.

On Friday, 12th February, a specific question was put to one of my staff and he categorically denied the allegation concerning accounts in ICC.

The matter was again raised by the journalist on Tuesday 16th last. It was also raised on Wednesday evening, the 17th.

In the meantime inquiries were being made on my behalf into all aspects of the issue, as additional information began to emerge. Most of the information has emerged in the last couple of days.

I am given to understand that the Moriarty tribunal got the ICC files on the passport for investment scheme.

We are all aware of the controversy that has surrounded the passports for investment schemes and that it has since been discontinued. Department of Justice files are with the tribunal. Nevertheless I want to share with the House the knowledge that I have at this stage.

Between 1989 and 1994 there were 66 investors. From 1989 to date, 163 people have been naturalised. They include 62 spouses and children and the total investment to date has been £95 million.

I am advised by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform that individuals' names should not be used in this regard. The application in question was applied for through proper channels and used companies of the highest standing. The investment account monies were invested in Penncastle, a ceramics company in Shanagarry, in Cork.

The various and only representation were from Deputy Ruairi Quinn, all with varying degrees of urgency. They were received and dealt with in the urgent manner requested.

Finally the approval was given by the Minister for Justice, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, and the passport was issued on 2nd November, 1994.

Under the scheme a reputable American businessman and his wife had two investment accounts in ICC in 1991 with the intention of obtaining an Irish passport. A third account was also opened which was a joint deposit account with Mr Brian O'Carroll, an Irish businessman.

In July 1993, Mr O'Carroll transferred £10,524.59 from the account in ICC on which he had signing powers. I am assured by the account holder that this was not an investment account.

On being appointed party treasurer in 1993, I set about putting the party's finances in order and a fundraising account was opened in Bank of Ireland, Baggot Street. The party was severely in debt at the time and one of the schemes that we set up was a loan scheme where party workers were asked to donate funds to put party finances in order.

Fianna Fail head office printed forms on which individuals would enter their name, address and amount and indicate whether the amount was a contribution or a loan.

From general recollection without access to the records the scheme raised approximately £300,000.

The majority was by way of direct contributions and the balance was by way of interest-free loans. The loans were always repayable on request and the scheme was intended to run for three years.

All the party was involved in this scheme including the national executive. Among other party members of the national executive, Mr Joe Brady was asked by Fianna Fail headquarters to seek interest-free loans in his constituency to help clear the party debt. One person he contacted was Brian O'Carroll.

An interest-free loan in the amount of £10,524.59 was received via Joe Brady, Roscommon (a member of the national executive finance committee), on 21st July, 1993.

The money was sent by credit transfer to the following account:

Name Reynolds/Ahern

current account, Bank of Ireland, Lower Baggot Street branch, Dublin 2

This account was opened by Fianna Fail in early 1993.

This was an ordinary fundraising account in the name of the party leader/trustees and party treasurer.

This account was opened in Bank of Ireland so that Fianna Fail could build up a deposit of funds to enable it pay its loans and creditors. The account was in Bank of Ireland so the funds would be kept separate from the party's day-to-day operating accounts.

As I said above Mr O'Carroll had a joint account with the applicant.

The joint account holders agreed to make a loan of £10,500 to Fianna Fail. The money was transferred from their account in the ICC Bank into the Fianna Fail fundraising account. The account from which the money was transferred was not an investment account.

The official names on the Fianna Fail account were Reynolds/Ahern. As a matter of fact, the interest-free loan has not been repaid, nor has any request been made to pay it.

I became responsible for authorising the issuing of monies from this account, on presentation of demands, by party accountants when I became leader of the party in December 1994.

As to the people or institutions involved in this particular account, let me say the following:

It appears to us that nothing underhand, deceitful or criminal took place in the transfer of funds from the joint account to the Fianna Fail account.

All the persons involved acted with integrity, honesty and professionalism.

No money was diverted from any investment account into Fianna Fail accounts.

It is a statement without any basis in fact that the money transferred to the Fianna Fail account was the equivalent of putting IDA money into the account.

My programme manager categorically denies that he said that the money was from an investment account.

I had no personal knowledge whatever of the transaction in question, nor would I have been reasonably expected to have had. It was entirely a matter for the professional people employed to deal with it.

Let me conclude by making these pertinent points:

I did not and do not hold any account in the ICC. I have not ever personally taken any money from an ICC nor from a Fianna Fail account unless properly authorised to do so for specific purposes.

Mr Ahern then responded to remarks in his speech by Mr Trevor Sargent (Green, Dublin North).

Deputy Sargent, I don't believe I have ever done anything wrong in my 22 years (in politics) in relation to money. As an accountant I don't believe I have done anything wrong. I never acted as an accountant for Fianna Fail but as party treasurer. The party treasurer does not do the checking of every single detail. We pay people to do that. But I do take a fair amount of interest in making sure that the party accounts are audited quickly and that the trustees meet regularly and that the party fulfils its various matters.

I do endeavour to make sure that the party acts honestly and with integrity. I believe I have colleagues here of the highest standing. I have worked hard with my party colleagues to bring forward our own ethics code, which we will finalise shortly.

And if I could get some co-operation from this House I would get the ethics commission legislation through because I'm waiting a year for it.

I have not been nor am I a beneficiary in any way of an ICC account and particularly I want to state that I had never received monies from a so-called passport investment account, or for this one or any other one.

I have never had anything to do with passport accounts, good, bad or indifferent, or offshore ones for that matter. The fact that the account was called Reynolds/Ahern was designed to nominate it as an official Fianna Fail account, but certainly not a personal account referring to either of the two people named.

It is particularly unhelpful in my opinion that a newspaper would use leaked material of an alleged nature to try and build up a head of political steam to damage this Government at anytime, but especially in the midst of most serious negotiations regarding the peace process and EU affairs.

The tribunals must have a view on the legality, the correctness, the justice and principles of common decency regarding people who leak, publish and broadcast titbits of supposedly damaging information which clearly undermine the work of the tribunals.

This House has given to the Moriarty and Flood tribunals the full authority and jurisdiction to deal in a comprehensive way with all these matters.

The House should remind itself of its duties in leaving to the Moriarty and Flood tribunals the work it assigned to them and not seek to abrogate to itself the tasks we have already assigned to these tribunals. The tribunals, at the behest of this House, are the only place where the totality of these matters should be heard and decided upon.

When the Taoiseach finished his scripted remarks he then dealt with questions raised by the Opposition in their speeches.

It is my view that in a lot of these issues what happens is that people who have matters relating from outside the House, not from inside the House, check these matters about questions inside the House, but they already have information outside the House.

I didn't know until the last number of hours that 15 accounts from ICC went to the tribunal. I didn't even know until last night that this particular file and others went to the Moriarty tribunal. But the Minister for Justice assures me that this one did. I'm not making allegations. I'll be fair about these matters if nobody else is fair. I could mention Deputy Quinn's name and go through all the letters. However, that is all tittle tattle too. These people did nothing wrong and I do not think the deputy did anything wrong, although he pushed the matter. However, if the notes mentioned by the deputy were done by one of my colleagues, people in the Opposition would be jumping up and down as if the House was about to fall down.

What is happening is that people are throwing muck and hoping that some of it sticks. There have been five issues this week and I could mention five more on which people are digging around.

I could come in armed very differently. I could bring in all the files that have gone to the tribunal because I have the records. I could say who did what in their time in office. I could go around the House and raise issues."

At this point Mr Bruton interrupted and said: "You wouldn't be threatening the House, would you. What you said sounds like a threat."

Mr Ahern said he was not threatening anybody, and Mr Bruton repeated that it sounded like a threat but they did not count.

Then the Taoiseach said to Mr Bruton: "Don't be losing your temper. As soon as anything gets to him, he gets excited."

When the Fine Gael leader stated that the Taoiseach said he would go through all the files of all the deputies in the house, the Taoiseach replied that he had misheard him.

"I said I could mention all the files relating to different governments which have gone to the tribunal. That does not mean anything wrong was done but I could play the innuendo game."

When Mr Bruton said the Taoiseach should not threaten the Opposition, Mr Ahern replied that he wasn't. "Who is getting threats all week?"

He went on: "A question was asked about the diversion of money. Deputy Quinn's notice under Standing Order 31 states: `The allegations made in a newspaper article that a sum of around £10,000 was diverted from the account of a passport investor to a Fianna Fail-controlled account in another financial institution in 1993 at a time when the current Taoiseach was treasurer of the Fianna Fail party and the need for the Taoiseach to make a full statement on the matter.'

Deputy John Bruton's notice states: `The admission by a Government source today that money has been accepted by Fianna Fail from a passports for investment investor; Deputy Gormley's notice sought the adjournment of the House `to allow time for a debate on the revelations that a transfer of £10,000 from an ICC account of a passport investor to a Fianna Fail account in another institution took place in 1993.'

Irish Times journalist Geraldine Kennedy said the account into which the £10,000 was diverted seems to have been in the name of Fianna Fail specifically, that money paid for passports is State funds and how could it be a political donation? The RTE commentator said it is extremely serious if Fianna Fail asked for money in the passports for sale scheme. The facts are now clear. The money was transferred and not diverted from a deposit account in ICC into a Fianna Fail fundraising account in the Bank of Ireland.

Deputies Bruton, Shatter, Gay Mitchell and Jim O'Keeffe asked about the allegation that I was aware of the donation. Those points were listed this morning and are covered in my notes replying to questions asked outside the House. I had no knowledge of the transaction of any other detailed transaction of this nature. Professional people work in that area.

Deputy Bruton asked about the claim that an offer of immunity to somebody willing to testify on these matters at the Flood tribunal was withdrawn. I had no knowledge of any of these matters until they were in the media this morning. I understand it is solely a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions and nobody - good, bad or indifferent - raised this matter with me in relation to the former deputy Burke or anything else about the former deputy.

Another question was whether I had reported this issue to the Moriarty tribunal. The RTE commentator said on Morning Ireland this morning that it is extremely serious if the Moriarty tribunal has not been informed.

All the files of the Department of Justice are with the Moriarty tribunal. Since I have no knowledge of the issue, or of any wrongdoing in this instance, I could not have been expected to refer it to the tribunal.

I have answered all the issues raised to the best of my ability. I have not argument or issue with anybody on these matters. The Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrat Government is clean on any of these issues which have been thrown at us this week.