The direction from the then taoiseach, Charles Haughey, that a Lebanese girl, Faten Moubarak, be given Irish citizenship in 1989 was illegal, the minister for justice at the time, Gerard Collins, told the Moriarty tribunal yesterday.
Mr Collins said there had been a "conspiracy of silence" about the matter. He said he was not told that the granting of citizenship had been directed, and that he "couldn't have tolerated it" if he had known.
Mr Collins told Jerry Healy SC, for the tribunal, that it was only when he had his first private meeting with members of the tribunal's legal team that he learned Mr Haughey had told assistant secretary Cathal Crowley the application for citizenship should be granted, despite the reservations of Mr Crowley and his colleagues in the Department of Justice.
He said he may have asked Mr Crowley to meet Mr Haughey and explain to him the issues involved in the naturalisation application, but it was not the case that he told him to negotiate with Mr Haughey about the matter.
He said there was "total opposition" within the department to granting the application. He believed the direction given to Mr Crowley by Mr Haughey was "illegally given because I was the minister, not [Mr Haughey] the taoiseach".
Mr Collins said he wouldn't have allowed a "minister who had no constitutional responsibility in relation to the matter" to give the direction. He said Mr Crowley had said he had not reported back to him, [Mr Collins], because he believed Mr Collins was "opting out" of the issue.
"How dare he," said Mr Collins. "The taoiseach had no right to give a direction. I knew it was all wrong, falsely based, and I was going to be the person to be held responsible."
His reputation would be gone "in hours" in the department.
He said Alan Dukes and Michael Noonan were also aware of the applications. "They'd have my head on a plate in a matter of hours."
Mr Collins said he did not have a close personal relationship with Dr John O'Connell but this was for reasons other than the passports issue. "Dr O'Connell did not rate too highly on my telescope, I might add."
He said Mr Haughey and Dr O'Connell were close and in his earlier period as minister for justice, in 1982, Mr Haughey had mentioned to him Dr O'Connell's anxiety to see some applications for residency dealt with. These four applications were eventually approved.
Later, further related applications were approved by Seán Doherty, including ones from Adnan and Leila Moubarak, and Slieman Moubarak. The department later grew concerned that these naturalisations, which were again promoted by Dr O'Connell, were "obtained by fraud".
In 1983 applications were mooted for three children of Adnan Moubarak and for Faten Moubarak, daughter of Slieman Moubarak. Mr Noonan, following a meeting with Dr O'Connell, decided not to approve or to refuse the applications. The issue was revived in 1987 when Mr Haughey returned to power.
"During my time as minister, we did not grant a certificate of naturalisation for Faten," Mr Collins said. He was under pressure from Mr Haughey on the matter, he added.
A memo in the department noted that the parents' applications were sponsored by Dr O'Connell. "It must be said that the question of whether fraud was involved in the case of the parent applicants in 1982 also applies in the case of the referees."
Mr Collins said he did not know the various applications were linked to "the man alleged to have given a large amount of money to Mr Haughey", [Mahmoud Fustok].
He said consideration had been given to having a criminal investigation into the 1982 naturalisations.
A reference in one memo to "let sleeping dogs lie", in his handwriting, could be a reference to the fact that Dr O'Connell was one of the referees for the 1982 applicants and that the late Mr Doherty was the minister at the time, Mr Collins said.
Mr Collins said that after cabinet meetings, Mr Haughey would ask him if nothing could be done about Faten Moubarak.