A Manchester-based businessman has told the Mahon tribunal of giving approximately £28,000 in cash to the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, in December 1994.
In the first direct testimony to the tribunal about money being given to Mr Ahern, Michael Wall (65) told the tribunal yesterday about taking the cash from a briefcase and putting it on a table in Mr Ahern's office in his constituency building, St Luke's, in Drumcondra, Dublin.
Mr Wall said Mr Ahern had not known he was bringing the cash to the meeting and he was asked by tribunal counsel Henry Murphy SC what Mr Ahern's reaction was when he was told. "There was no particular reaction whatsoever," Mr Wall said. He did not recall Mr Ahern showing any surprise. "It was a perfectly normal chat," he said.
Mr Ahern's then partner, Celia Larkin, was also present during the half-hour meeting, Mr Wall said. He said no one counted the money and no receipt was issued. Mr Murphy asked if Mr Ahern and Ms Larkin were "agog" when Mr Wall produced the cash and put it on the table. "Normal," said Mr Wall. "Normal is the best I can say."
He said Mr Ahern took the cash away and he presumed he put it in a safe. Mr Wall said he was not certain how much cash was handed over but he thought it might be approximately £28,000, the bulk of it in sterling £20 notes. "I would have said there is roughly so much there." There was no discussion as to the amount, he said.
The tribunal has been told the money was given to Mr Ahern so it could be used on a house which Mr Wall was to buy and which Mr Ahern would rent, with an option to purchase at a future date. Mr Wall handed the money over on Saturday, December 3rd, 1994. He had put in a successful bid on the house the previous Tuesday, November 29th, 1994, and closed the sale on the house in late March 1995. The house in Drumcondra was bought for £138,000.
On the night before handing over the money, Mr Wall had attended a fundraising dinner for Mr Ahern's constituency. He said he spent the night in the Ashling Hotel on Dublin's quays, and left the suitcase full of money in the wardrobe in his room while attending the function. He said he brought the suitcase to Ireland in his car, and crossed to Ireland on the ferry.
The money came from his safe in Manchester, where he ran a coach business and dealt extensively in cash, he said.
Mr Wall told the tribunal in private session earlier this year that he counted the money in Manchester when he took it from the safe, and it was stg£30,000 in cash. However, yesterday he said it was a mix of sterling and Irish pounds, the bulk of it sterling, and that he spent approximately IR£2,000 at the Kilmainham function before giving what remained to Mr Ahern.
Mr Wall said he first met Mr Ahern in the 1980s and considered him a close friend. He also considered Ms Larkin to be a close friend, though he last saw her about two years ago. "She's no longer in the circle."
Mr Murphy said that on the weekend the money was handed over, Mr Ahern, who was then the minister for finance, was expecting to be appointed taoiseach on the following Tuesday.
Ms Larkin, who the tribunal has been told banked the cash from Mr Wall on Mr Ahern's behalf, is scheduled to begin giving evidence today. Mr Ahern is scheduled to give evidence tomorrow and Friday. The lodgement by Ms Larkin is one of four cash lodgements being inquired into by the tribunal.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny yesterday said Mr Ahern must leave "no ambiguity, no confusion, no unanswered questions" about his personal finances following his tribunal appearance. "I have always said that it is utterly wrong for people in high office to accept money for personal use. We have had confusing statements about amounts of up to €300,000 in today's terms having passed through the accounts of the Taoiseach," Mr Kenny said. Mr Ahern's "hour has now come", he added.