THE MAHON TRIBUNAL:Ahern's appearances at the tribunal had the effect of shortening his reign as Taoiseach, writes COLM KEENA
THE MAHON tribunal's inquiry into the finances of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern appears to be close to a conclusion. The list of scheduled witnesses on the tribunal's website has been whittled down at a steady rate since Ahern's last appearance on February 22nd.
It is quite possible that a report on the principal matter being examined - allegations of corruption during the development of the Quarryvale (now Liffey Valley) shopping centre - will be out within a year.
One of the allegations being investigated is that Ahern received corrupt payments from developer Owen O'Callaghan. Both men deny the allegation.
The tribunal initiated a private inquiry into Ahern's finances to see if it would support or rule out the possibility of such a payment. Because it was having so much difficulty making progress and making sense of Ahern's finances, the tribunal moved the matter into public session. This had the effect in time of shortening Ahern's reign as Taoiseach.
Insofar as the tribunal's report will deal with Ahern, there appears to be three possible types of findings available, two of which would be very damaging to his reputation.
• The best finding he can hope for is that the three tribunal judges accept his evidence on his personal finances and reject the allegation that he received corrupt payments. Such an outcome would be a vindication for Ahern, and a huge embarrassment for the tribunal given the effect it has had on Ahern's final year in office.
• A second possibility is that the judges will decide not to accept Ahern's evidence on his personal finances, but will at the same time rule that they do not believe he received corrupt payments from O'Callaghan.
• A third possibility is that they will decide not to believe Ahern's testimony on his personal finances and find that he most likely did receive corrupt payments from O'Callaghan.
As matters stand, many observers believe the second is the most likely outcome. If the tribunal finds that it does not believe his sworn testimony on his personal finances, then the key matter for him will be the level of detail into which the report enters.
For instance, should the tribunal choose not to believe the dig-out story, then the possibility arises that the report will find that a sitting Taoiseach not only misled a tribunal which his Government was funding, but also engaged in a conspiracy with others to mislead the tribunal.
The tribunal first began making inquiries of Ahern concerning his personal finances in 2004. He has made use of the services of forensic accountant Des Peelo, banker Paddy Strong, an actuary and legal advisers, and has had access to extensive records from financial institutions.
His ability to deal with detail in the witness box has been notable. His evidence has very much been considered evidence and, if substantial aspects of it are rejected by the tribunal, then it is hard to see how the judges will not feel obliged to forward the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
When Ahern last gave evidence in February, he was questioned about an account he opened with the Irish Permanent Building Society in Drumcondra in 1994, and into which money was lodged in the period to 1997, when the accumulated funds were put towards the purchase of a house. Ahern said the amounts lodged were in the main salary cheques from his work as a politician.
Since then, in dramatic evidence in March, his former secretary Gráinne Carruth accepted that she had lodged sterling cash to the accounts in 1994 after being given the cash by Ahern. She said she accepted that she must have done so, on the basis of records retrieved from the building societys archives.
Ahern's legal team would have been circulated with these records before Carruth's evidence. They were present but said nothing on the first day of her evidence, and were not present on the second day when she accepted that, on the basis of the records, she must have lodged sterling.
Ahern must now explain both his earlier evidence and the sterling lodgements.
It is understood he will accept that sterling was lodged and seek to explain how that came to be so. Stark warnings about the sanctions that exist for persons who mislead a tribunal were read out to Carruth in March, and it remains to be seen if the matter will be raised with Ahern when he returns to the witness box.
The tribunal's inquiries into his personal finances initially focused on a number of personal accounts he opened in 1993 and 1994 but have strayed since then into matters to do with his constituency operation. In particular, the tribunal has looked at an account called the B/T account, which was opened in the same Irish Permanent Branch in 1989 by Ahern's long-time colleague, land agent Tim Collins, who stipulated that the statements on the account be kept care of the branch.
The tribunal has been told the initials on the account stand for "building trust" and that it was used to hold surplus political donations. Oddly, the account has remained untouched since 1995, when new rules governing the handling of political donations were introduced by the rainbow coalition. The balance earlier this year was in excess of €47,000.
The tribunal has raised the suggestion that B/T might stand for "Bertie and Tim" rather than building trust. The branch manager at the time, Blair Hughes, has said it was his understanding at the time that the initials stood for Bertie and Tim.
In 1993, Ahern's then partner, Celia Larkin, was given £30,000 from the account. A large lodgement to the account a year later was sterling cash.
A number of witnesses from the constituency are to give evidence to the tribunal next week. So too is Ahern's long-time fundraiser, Des Richardson, and Dublin Port Company chairman Joe Burke. Manchester businessman Micheál Wall, and Larkin, are also due to return to the witness box.
One of the named contributors to the dig-outs, Michael Collins, has yet to give evidence. He lives in Sydney and was at one stage last year scheduled to give evidence, but that arrangement did not go ahead. Earlier this week he told The Irish Times that he would appear when the tribunal requests him to do so, but that he hasn't been asked as yet.
Ahern himself may be back in the witness box early next month, although no date has as yet been set. He will have to deal with the building society account issue, as well as his dealings with O'Callaghan during the period in the early 1990s when the Quarryvale project was being pursued. There may also be matters to do with the constituency accounts.
When giving evidence from now on, he will, of course, be doing so as a TD rather than a sitting Taoiseach. He will not have the Government press apparatus to use. If the testimony to come proves as controversial as that already heard, it will be interesting to observe if his former cabinet colleagues come out to support him and criticise the tribunal to the extent they have so up to now.