The Taoiseach has confirmed that he approved secret talks between his former special adviser, Dr Martin Mansergh, and the alleged "Real IRA" leader, Michael McKevitt, following the 1998 Omagh bombing.
The confirmation conflicts with a Dáil answer by the Taoiseach to questions last November, in which he gave the impression that the only meeting Dr Mansergh had had with "Real IRA" associates was before the Omagh bombing in August 1998.
It also directly contradicts a response given by the Taoiseach on November 3rd, 2002, to reporters' questions after the Sunday Business Post reported that Dr Mansergh had, on the Taoiseach's behalf, met the "Real IRA". Asked to give a full statement on this he said then: "It's very easy to make a full statement. No, there was no contact."
Asked in November 2002 to comment specifically on what the article said about Dr Mansergh having a meeting with the "Real IRA" he replied: "I haven't read the article. I understand the article is saying the Government had contact after Omagh through Martin Mansergh. The Government had no contact whatever with the 'Real IRA' after Omagh or any other time." In the Dáil yesterday Mr Ahern accepted that it would have been better had he revealed the post-Omagh meeting when asked about it last November.
A spokesman for the Taoiseach said that in answering questions in the Dáil last year, the Taoiseach's focus had been on answering a charge at that time that the Government had done a secret deal with the "Real IRA", offering not to pursue prosecutions against members in exchange for a ceasefire.
He was not, therefore, focused on giving "a comprehensive chronology" of meetings, while accepting now that it would have been better to mention the post-Omagh meeting, which took place in Christmas week of 1998, three months after the "Real IRA" declared a ceasefire.
When answering reporters' questions concerning the Sunday Business Post article, he said, he was responding to a newspaper report he had not read.
Last November Mr Ahern said in response to Mr Kenny: "I can confirm that some weeks before the Omagh bombing efforts were made by my then special adviser, Senator Mansergh, in his contacts with the 32 County Sovereignty Committee to persuade it to use its good offices to bring the 'Real IRA' campaign to an end."
The only contacts he referred to after Omagh was, he said, when "Father Alex Reid, who had already been instrumental in helping to bring about two IRA ceasefires, received an approach after the Omagh bombing from some of those associated with the 'Real IRA' campaign.
"At subsequent meetings he took the opportunity to impress on them the need to stop and he reported some observations to my special adviser and took advice from him."
However, yesterday Mr Ahern said that Dr Mansergh had had a face-to-face meeting with McKevitt as well after Omagh, in Christmas week of 1998. He accepted that the position was not clear from the record of what he had said last year.