The former chairman and chief executive of Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Ltd, Mr Paddy Teahon, said yesterday he had no "detailed" discussions with the Taoiseach about the dormant status of the company awarded a contract the operate the national aquatic centre.
He was responding to questions at the Committee of Public Accounts from Mr Pat Rabbitte TD (Lab) who suggested Mr Teahon would not have proceeded in the manner he did unless he had "political cover".
Mr Rabbitte said he found it very difficult to understand that someone with Mr Teahon's track-record in public service would have breached procedures without sanction.
But Mr Teahon replied: "If you are asking . . . 'did I discuss this with the Taoiseach in a detailed way?' The answer is no."
Asked did he have any discussions with the Taoiseach on the matter prior to the Cabinet approving the contract, Mr Teahon replied that he did not discuss the report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) which drew attention to the company's dormant status.
Mr Teahon was addressing the committee just hours after stepping down as chairman and chief executive of CSID.
Asked whether he felt let-down, Mr Teahon replied that he had believed for some time the two roles within the company should not be combined. He also noted the board of CSID was seeking a full-time chief executive and he had informed it that he did not want such a position because of the time involved.
He added he welcomed "very much" what the Government said in its statement yesterday regarding his integrity.
"I remain of the view that I have done nothing wrong," said Mr Teahon. However, the Government had put a proposition to him and he had agreed to it "in the interests of the project".
He said he had not had time to consider in detail the final analysis of the Attorney General on the matter. Thus, he said he was not in a position to say there was nothing in the analysis with which he would take issue.
Mr Rabbitte asked why, since the Special Olympics were not being staged until next year, was a deadline of December 22nd 2000 set for the lodging of a planning application for the project. In the week proceeding that date, CSID received the PwC report, selected the preferred consortium, and sought and received Cabinet approval. Explaining the haste, Mr Teahon said CSID had a timescale which it was trying to keep. He denied CSID "assisted" the successful bidder by informing it that it was the preferred choice prior to Cabinet approval. He further rejected the claim that the fact that CSID had lodged the planning application within two days of a decision indicated the company had pre-judged the situation.
Concluding the meeting, the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell, said he felt it was "better to stay silent" on the issue of whether CSID had breached EU competition law on the manner in which it awarded the contract.
However, he recognised a "potential liability" to the State.
