Treasurer does not know source of St Luke's £56,000

Former attorney general David Byrne wrote a report on the ownership of St Luke's in 1997, writes Colm KeenaPublic Affairs Correspondent

BERTIE AHERN'S local cumann, his constituency organisation and the surviving trustees of St Luke's have sworn extensive affidavits of discovery to the tribunal in recent weeks, but no one has been able to show where the £56,000 used to buy St Luke's in May 1988 came from.

The chief treasurer for Ahern's constituency operation, Dominic Dillane, swore the affidavits on their behalf after the bodies had conducted extensive inquiries into their finances at the direction of the tribunal.

Despite the fact that he swore the affidavits on their behalf, it quickly emerged when he entered the witness box yesterday that Dillane had not spoken to any of the surviving trustees beforehand.

When asked by tribunal counsel Henry Murphy SC why he had not spoken to them, Dillane said he didn't know them very well. He said Ahern had spoken to them and he had spoken to Ahern.

The affidavits concerned the years 1989 to 1995 and covered constituency bank accounts and other accounts the tribunal has been told are associated with the St Luke's building.

On a number of occasions, when Murphy asked Dillane about aspects of the constituency operation during the period, Dillane was unable to answer. He was appointed treasurer in 2001 and he pointed out he was still in school at the time the events the tribunal is examining occurred.

Asked why he was selected to swear the affidavit, Dillane said it was because he worked close to the offices of solicitors acting for the Fianna Fáil constituency organisation and the trustees.

The tribunal is looking at a number of accounts and what link, if any, they have with the personal finances of Ahern.

The accounts are: the constituency number one account - which was in the name of Ahern and Joe Burke; election accounts for 1989 and 1992; the so-called CODR account; and the famous B/T account, the account from which Celia Larkin was given £30,000 in 1993. No global figure was given, but the amounts running through the accounts exceed £250,000.

The tribunal has been told the CODR account was opened in January 1988 to be used in the purchase of St Luke's. It was bought for £56,000 in May 1988.

None of the money came from the CODR account, and nor did it come from any of the other accounts mentioned above, or from any of the other more regular constituency accounts which have been reviewed by the tribunal as part of its ongoing inquiry into Ahern's finances and those of his constituency.

Some new information about the purchase of St Luke's was disclosed yesterday. Dillane said that a few days before Ahern's announcement of his retirement on April 2nd last, a voluntary worker discovered two documents in a drawer in a filing cabinet in St Luke's.

The first document was a report on the acquisition, legal ownership and funding of St Luke's, drafted by barrister David Byrne in the context of the 1997 general election. That election saw Ahern being elected taoiseach for the first time, after which he appointed Mr Byrne as attorney general. Mr Dillane said it was his understanding that the report was drafted after queries from journalists about St Luke's.

The second document was a memorandum also dealing with St Luke's. Dillane said he believed it was a document drafted by some of the trustees working with Byrne and the late Gerry Brennan. Dillane said he was basing his evidence on what had been said to him by Ahern.

Murphy said the tribunal had been told by Byrne that he never saw the second document before.

The content of the two documents was not outlined at yesterday's hearing, though part of one document was displayed.

It said that on December 3rd, 1987 a meeting was held in the Gresham Hotel, Dublin, by members of the "St Luke's Club". More than 20 people attended. It was agreed that over the following four to five years each person would give £1,000 towards the project. By late 1989, a total of £73,200 had been raised.

As Murphy pointed out, the search by Ahern, his constituency organisation and the trustees, has not disclosed any account holding this money.