Inquiry told of funds raised for Lenihan

Between £120,000 and £140,000 was raised by the Fianna Fail fundraiser, Mr Paul Kavanagh, to pay for Mr Brian Lenihan's medical expenses, the tribunal heard yesterday.

Ms Eileen Foy, administrator of the party leader's allowance account under Mr Charles Haughey, said Mr Kavanagh told her he collected this amount for the Lenihan fund, just short of a target of £150,000.

She was explaining why she was revising earlier evidence that the sum involved was around £200,000. Ms Foy said she met Mr Kavanagh in the past three weeks in an effort to clarify the issue. On the basis of this meeting she changed her opinion.

She said on foot of this meeting she also came to believe that Mr Lenihan and his wife, Anne, received further cash payments, aside from those to pay for medical expenses, to assist with "significant personal expenses". She was not aware of the amounts.

This belief was based on the fact that Mr Kavanagh told her Mrs Lenihan received a cash payment. Ms Foy said she asked him whet her Mr Lenihan had also received a payment and Mr Kavanagh replied: "I can't be certain but I could well believe it."

Mr John Coughlan SC, for the tribunal, said Mrs Lenihan had given a statement to the tribunal, saying her understanding was that there was only one cash payment of £200 to her. He noted they were dealing with the reputation of a dead person.

Ms Foy said she was aware of that. But she said that while she "had not nothing to base it on . . . I still have a feeling Brian got money." This was despite the fact that she never gave him any money and never made any drawings in his favour on the leader's allowance account.

Mr Coughlan noted that whatever sum was collected, "there was always plenty of money available to meet and discharge the bills that were presented".

On an examination of the accounts, Ms Foy accepted this was the case. She further accepted that there were plenty of designated funds available to discharge a £12,914.50 debt owed to the Department of Defence for services provided in helping to arrange a visit by Mr Lenihan's family to him in the US.

The debt was paid in February 1991 after a delay of a number of months. Ms Foy said she had had no contact with the VHI in relation to the settling of Mr Lenihan's legal expenses. She had thought the insurance body had contributed around £10,000 but this proved inaccurate.