Loans to Ahern 'did not warrant' investigation

THE PAYMENTS received by former taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Manchester and Dublin in the early 1990s "did not warrant" investigation, the ethics body has ruled.

The Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) received two complaints from members of the public about Mr Ahern's acceptance of gifts and loans when he was minister for finance.

However, it concluded that it had no role because the payments were made before the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 came into force.

The payment of a gift by Manchester businessmen and another of £50,000 by 12 friends in Dublin "fell wholly outside" the 1995 legislation.

Treating both as loans, the body said it was satisfied that there was "no evidence of any breach" having regard to the circumstances in which the loans were made, the prevailing interest rates of the period and the interest actually paid by Mr Ahern.

Meanwhile, the ethics body also decided not to inquire into State board appointments by Mr Ahern.

The commission said it had considered whether there was "sufficient evidence" to warrant a full investigation, but concluded that there "was no such evidence".

A complaint by former Green Party leader Trevor Sargent about the handling of a number of issues by former cabinet minister Frank Fahey during his time as minister for the marine has also been rejected by the commission.

Mr Sargent had complained about Mr Fahey's decisions in the Vessels Lost At Sea scheme - when it was alleged the majority of the State aid available went to trawler owners from Mr Fahey's Galway West constituency.

"On the basis of the evidence before it there was no prima facie case against Deputy Fahey and no basis on which it might initiate an investigation," the commission said.

The commission also decided not to take any action against the Galway TD for failing to disclose an interest in an apartment in Daytona Beach, Florida.