Mr Charles Haughey said he had no recollection of a development in Baldoyle which could have yielded him £200,000 as referred to in an AIB memo in February 1979. He said he was definitely not promised that sum by anybody.
Mr John Coughlan SC, for the tribunal, had opened the memo written by Mr Michael Phelan, bank manager, about a discussion with Mr Haughey on February 19th, 1979, stating his debt might be reduced by £200,000 by trimming off part of Abbeville.
The memo said Mr Haughey had "waffled a bit" about recent sales of sites in Malahide.
According to the memo, "apart from any monies from the sale of lands he [Mr Haughey] told me that from a development in Baldoyle, which was now coming to fruition there would be a sum of £200,000 coming to him. He expected this amount to the available in a month at the outside, and from the conversation itlooks as if this is the reduction he intended to make in his debt here. The tax implications on this £200,000 was, according to him, a question that needed some consideration."
Mr Haughey said: "I've no recollection of that. I think there must be some confusion there. The only real possibility I had of making any contribution would be from the sale of Abbeville lands. I don't understand the other."
He said it seemed out of the norm. It had not been mentioned. Mr Haughey said, "The only suggestion here I can make is that there may be some confusion between the two amounts of £200,000. It's an unlikely coincidence that you'd be talking about two separate amounts of £200,000. There might be some cross-confusion. I mean, Mr Phelan does talk about my waffling about the prices and so on."
Mr Coughlan asked: "Did anybody indicate that when a development at Baldoyle had come to fruition that they might be in a position to either do a deal with you, make a contribution to you?"
"Nothing of that sort," Mr Haughey said.
Mr Coughlan said: "You can be definite in your recollection of those."
Mr Haughey said: "Reasonably definite. In other words, I cannot recollect either making these statements to Mr Phelan although I accept he must have believed that I said it."
Mr Coughlan said Mr Haughey had had the documents for some time and been considering them. Had he thought about any development that would have taken place in Baldoyle which might have yielded anything for him?
Mr Haughey said: "Nothing that I was in any way involved in or connected with."
Mr Coughlan said: "Or that anyone had indicated that as a result of a development coming to fruition that any monies could be paid to you?"
"Definitely not," Mr Haughey said.
Mr Coughlan asked if he could rule out a direct involvement in any development in Baldoyle. "Absolutely," Mr Haughey said.
Asked if he could rule out a development with which he was connected, Mr Haughey replied: "Absolutely."
Mr Coughlan asked: "But do you leave open a possibility that some development may at the time have been going on in Baldoyle which may have yielded you £200,000?"
"Only insofar as I cannot recollect. The other side of that coin is, if I cannot recollect I have to admit that there could have been," Mr Haughey said.
"It does puzzle me, genuinely puzzle me, as to where it could have come from in this context," Mr Haughey said. "If it were something real, I'm sure I wouldn't have forgotten all about it."
Mr Coughlan asked if somebody could have promised him £200,000 at that time which did not come to fruition.
"Certainly not. Very definitely not," Mr Haughey said.