The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has rejected Opposition charges that he arrogantly abused his power by hosting a private party at Farmleigh with his partner, Ms Celia Larkin.
The Fine Gael frontbench spokeswoman, Ms Nora Owen, said it was a clear abuse of power to have used the official State guesthouse, which was purchased and restored with taxpayers' money, for a private gathering which might also have had a "promotional aspect" for Ms Larkin's beauty business. "This has shown the arrogance we have come to expect from the Taoiseach. Many charities have sought the use of Farmleigh for charity functions and have been refused. Yet we see the Taoiseach abusing his power and abusing his position, and allowing this be used by his partner."
Mr Ahern put up a strong defence, saying details of the occasion had been leaked by Fine Gael in the run-up to the general election, even though they had known about it for five months.
Thousands of people had attended Farmleigh last summer when it was first opened, and this had been repeated at Christmas, he said. There were some friends of his and Ms Larkin's who had not been able to attend then due to ill health or because they lived in the Middle East and the United States.
Like many other people, he and Ms Larkin had formally asked the Office of Public Works to be allowed to bring a small group for a tour on December 21st. "I did it through the OPW channels, the proper channels. Both Celia and I were there on the night; it wasn't just Celia. They were all personal friends of one or other of us. We were in the house, I'd say, for an hour. It might have been slightly more."
Afterwards they had mince pies and mulled wine. "We went on the tour of the house and we, I think, had a glass of mulled wine. I think we had coffee; I think we had tea. I can't remember whether we had pies or biscuits. That doesn't make any difference and I am not being flippant. That shows no arrogance."
Asked who paid for the function, Mr Ahern said there had been no "function" and the only cost to the taxpayer was the cup of tea.
The OPW never denied the tour took place, he said. "The OPW were asked if there was a major reception. Somebody said there were 300 people there for a sit-down dinner. I think there were about 22 or 24; from the people that both Celia and I can remember, there were certainly 20."
An OPW spokeswoman pointed out yesterday that anyone could request a tour of Farmleigh and they could usually be organised with a few days' notice. She said Ms Larkin had requested this tour for between 20 and 25 people. They had a tour of the house and were joined by the Taoiseach. After mulled wine and mince pies they left. She said mince pieces were available to all tour parties in December.