A website using the name of the Taoiseach has stopped displaying pornographic images. The website, called bertieahern.com, now directs Internet surfers to the official Department of the Taoiseach website (www.irlgov.ie/taoiseach/).
A spokeswoman for the Government denied it had made any payment for the website address and said it was baffled as to why its current owners had made the latest move. She added that no negotiations were being conducted with the current owner of the web address.
The Department is investigating the possibility of an appeal to a European body to acquire ownership of the name.
Last month Mr Ahern told the Dail that he had been offered the web address for $1 million. An Ohio-based Internet company, TransNames.com, told The Irish Times in April that it had temporarily leased the name to a porn site operator and was not responsible for its content.
The name bertieahern.com is still on sale on the TransNames site with a price tag now of $3,200,000.
Yesterday a spokesman for the company said that it was not prepared to comment, but expected to have a response after May 25th. The spokesman could not clarify the reason for the delay.