Mahon denies tribunal leaked Ahern letter

Planning tribunal chairman Judge Alan Mahon today insisted the letter on which The Irish Timesbased an article on payments to the Taoiseach was not leaked by the inquiry.

Judge Mahon said it was a source of concern for the tribunal that much of the media coverage of the controversy cites "a leak from the tribunal" as the source of the letter.

This, he said, implies that the tribunal was responsible for breaching the very confidentiality it relies on to carry out its work.

"Any such conduct would be a gross dereliction of duty on the part of the tribunal of any of its personnel," he said in a statement this afternoon.

In his ruling, Judge Mahon said he was conscious public disclosure in the press of matters being investigated by the tribunal were damaging to both the individuals involved and the inquiry itself.

"The motivation of those parties who have broken the confidentiality of the tribunal communications by revealing matters to the press has not been a desire to serve the public interest, but rather to serve their own private interests," he added.

He said the breaches were carried out as "pre-emptive strikes" against other parties under investigation or, "more cynically, to try to damage the tribunal itself by allowing it to be suggested or inferred that the tribunal has been the source of leaking material to others."

Judge Mahon added: "One-side reporting of material, without putting it in the full context of the inquiry, can often be misleading and damaging to the interests of the parties referred to therein."

He noted that his predecessor, Mr Justice Feargus Flood, was a serving member of the judiciary, as are his current colleagues, Judge Mary Faherty and Judge Gerald Keys. "The standards of probity which we have applied to our task as members of the tribunal are no less than those which we apply in our judicial office," he said.

Suspicions that the tribunal itself leaked any confidential documents could damage the public perception of the inquiry, he said, adding that any suggestion that the tribunal was deliberately trying to damage any individual or groups "is entirely without foundation".

The chairman said: "Any person who maintains the contrary, in the absence of any evidence whatsoever to support their belief, does considerable harm to the good standing of the tribunal."