Haughey drawn into Burke payment controversy

For the first time, the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, has been linked to the payment of the Fitzwilton donation of £30,000 to Mr Ray Burke in 1989. Mr Haughey's knowledge of the donation was divulged last night by a Fianna Fail TD, Mr Sean Fleming, the party's accountant at that time.

In embarrassing new disclosures for the Taoiseach, the Laois/Offaly TD signalled that Mr Ahern would have been in a position to know last September - if he had consulted him - that the £10,000 received by Fianna Fail from Mr Burke did not come from the £30,000 from Joseph Murphy Structural Engineering but from Rennicks Manufacturing Ltd.

Mr Fleming cited "a long-standing practice and an unwritten rule" in Fianna Fail as the reason why he did not inform Mr Ahern last September that Mr Burke had handed over £10,000 from the Rennicks payment. Yet, in June 1989, he had informed the former Taoiseach, Mr Haughey, that Fianna Fail had been "left short" in respect of the Rennicks donation.

In the Dail debate on the expanded terms of reference for the Flood tribunal, Mr Fleming said that he and Mr Paul Kavanagh, who was then head of the Fianna Fail fundraising committee, had pointed out to Mr Haughey in June 1989 that they "believed that the party's national fund-raising committee had been left short in respect of this donation".

Mr Fleming added: "Charlie Haughey indicated that we should leave the matter to him."

Following his election to the Dail in June last year Mr Fleming said that he had been contacted by Mr Pat Farrell, the party's general secretary, who had asked him in July or August, 1997, whether Mr Burke had given £10,000 to Fianna Fail head office in June 1989. "I visited party headquarters and I checked the cash receipts book and was satisfied that we had received £10,000 through Ray Burke during the June 1989 election campaign and that this contribution had been from Rennicks", Mr Fleming stated.

He informed Mr Farrell verbally of this matter and was then able to confirm receipt of the £10,000.

"I did not discuss the matter with the Taoiseach", he added.