Ahern loans saga places Coalition under pressure

The Coalition is under renewed pressure this evening after the Minister for Health Mary Harney denied she had been aware of the…

The Coalition is under renewed pressure this evening after the Minister for Health Mary Harney denied she had been aware of the Taoiseach's loans prior to his public admission earlier this month.

Ms Harney suggested Mr Ahern may have been mistaken when he said he told Dail this morning that she was aware he had received loans from a group of friends in the early 1990s.

In response to a question from Sinn Féin's Caoimhín Ó Caoiláin on what details the Progressive Democrats knew of his financial affairs, Mr Ahern said: "They didn't know about Michael Wall because I never told them who I bought my house from.

"Did I tell the Progressive Democrats ... was I dealing with the tribunal? Yes I did. Did I tell the Progressive Democrats that I got loans from friends? Yes I did. Did I tell them about Michael Wall? No I didn't."

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But speaking in Tullamore this afternoon Ms Harney said: "Just before the summer the Taoiseach told me that the tribunal were in touch with him in relation to his legal separation and that there was going to be litigation".

"He did tell me that but I wasn't aware of his personal financial arrangements or about loans or money. I wasn't aware of that," she said.

"I think the Taoiseach may have misunderstood or I don't think he meant anything … as I understand it what he said was that he thought he had told me that but he hadn't," she added.

Green Party TD John Gormley described the apparent contradiction as "the most serious crisis yet for the coalition partners".

"If Mary Harney believes that the Taoiseach misled Dáil Éireann when he suggested they she knew about his loan arrangements, then both she and Michael McDowell should immediately call on Bertie Ahern to make a retraction", he added.

But this evening Minister for Finance Brian Cowen denied there was any rift in the Coalition.