The Taoiseach said he always intended to tell the Dail about his involvement in the Sheedy case. "All I did in this case was receive representations, made inquires, dealt with them. Whether I had told the Dail or not has no bearing . . . but my intention was to tell the Dail. That was what I intended to do on the first occasion I answered questions last week. If it had not hit a Sunday newspaper last week, I would have been back in the Dail this week making sure I did it."
Answering opposition questions for one-hour-and-a-half, the Taoiseach on a number of occasions said he intended to deal with the matter in the Dail, "not that I thought it was any great deal, not that I thought there was any judicial interference by the political system, but because it could be misinterpreted."
Mr Ahern said he had spoken of his involvement all over the place. "I said it to the Minister that if he was in the House and was asked, to say that I said it. I intended taking the opportunity to deal with it last Tuesday. When it was postponed to Wednesday, I intended doing it then.
"That is the position. Whether people want to believe it or not, it will remain the position until the day I die."
The Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said the question had been asked if the letter to Mr Ahern relating to Philip Sheedy was just another letter, "like another casual encounter with a judge in a park," or was it something else.
Mr Ahern said there was nothing exceptional about the case. "The idea of me getting a letter, writing a manuscript note, it being registered on the computer, a private secretary or any other member of the staff making a call about it, is not unusual in terms of what I do."
Answering further questions, Mr Ahern said: "I did not make any representations to any member of the judiciary. I did not talk to any member of the judiciary. I sent no note to any member of the judiciary, I got on to no court clerks."
Asked if he had meetings with either of the two judges about the Sheedy case, Mr Ahern said No. To the best of his recollection he only ever met the former Mr Justice Cyril Kelly once at Aras an Uachtarain, when he attended Mr Kelly's installation.
He met Mr Justice O'Flaherty at least three times in the past year - about a week before Christmas when the judge organised a function for the commemoration of the 1798 memorial in the Supreme Court. He met him again after the service for 1798 in St Michan's parish church and once more during the 1798 commemorations but Mr Ahern did not believe he spoke to him then.
Mr Ahern did not know where the letter from Mr Sheedy snr went until yesterday when his office asked Mr Sheedy if they could use the letter which the Taoiseach considered private. AS in Cabra and said he sent the letter to St Luke's, Drumcondra. The note Mr Ahern took read: "Philip Sheedy, Shelton Abbey, Four years, two-year review, one and a half, day release."
The note his private secretary took read: "Justice - what is the story?, October 1998, Review at October 1999, not before, (then something about) Minister, day release."
The Taoiseach then dealt with references to former Fianna Fail councillor, Mr Joe Burke, who visited Mr Sheedy at Shelton Abbey. To the best of the Taoiseach's knowledge, "he never mentioned that he was in business with Mr Sheedy, did work for him or had anything to do with him. I have no record of that."
He was his neighbour 25 years ago and "is a good personal friend" but was "not a political heavyweight of any kind". Dismissing media references to Mr Burke, Mr Ahern said: "he has recently been described as a politician, my closest adviser, my closest confidant, the leader of my constituency and the political mastermind behind me. Mr Burke is a fairly good builder but he is none of the other things."
He said that Mr Burke might help him with socials and other matters but he had not canvassed a door since 1991. "When I meet him we usually talk about sport, sometimes about building and politics."
To some laughter, Mr Pat Rabbitte asked: "Will the Taoiseach put Mr Burke on a prison visiting committee?"
Mr Ahern replied: "I do not think that would be advisable. He was on the Port and Docks Board and I think the former minister, Mr Wilson, would have appointed him - it was that long ago."
Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist, Dublin West) compared the controversy to a burglary investigation when detectives could make a strong case against the owner of fingerprints found all over the place.
He asked the Taoiseach to explain the fingerprints found in this controversy - "namely those of two Fianna Fail-appointed judges, a Fianna Fail deputy, a former Fianna Fail deputy, a former Fianna Fail councillor who is a close friend of the Taoiseach, a Fianna Fail senator who sometimes doubles as a psychiatrist, and to cap it all a Fianna Fail Taoiseach. "Does the Taoiseach accept that this matter is covered in Fianna Fail's fingerprints and that ordinary people would be fully justified in believing that it was a Fianna Fail job?"
Mr Ahern said he was aware that people with affiliations to Fianna Fail had been linked to this matters. "That does not make anyone very happy. However, in dealing effectively with this matter, a Fianna Fail Minister for Justice was responsible for obliging these people to leave office."