As Fianna Fail and Fine Gael remain locked in battle over the "leaking" of confidential documents from the Department of Foreign Affairs, presidential candidate, Prof Mary McAleese, again refused to answer further media questions on the matter. Speaking after a supporters' rally in Galway last night, the Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrats candidate insisted she had dealt with the issue "absolutely comprehensively" in her media appearances before yesterday's newspaper reports and that she had no intention of dealing with the issue any further.
Asked if she felt the reports had damaged her campaign, she said the warm response she had received in Galway was proof that they had not. Her late night comments to the media followed scuffles outside the Great Southern Hotel when she was repeatedly asked to comment on yesterday's leaked memoranda. She apologised to reporters after the rally, but refused to comment about the heavy-handedness of her entourage.
The newspaper reports linked Prof McAleese with support for Sinn Fein. Yesterday, Ms Brid Rodgers of the SDLP was reported in an official memorandum as saying that Prof McAleese - along with Father Alex Reid and Mr Jim Fitzpatrick, editor-in-chief of the Irish News - were "promoting a new nationalist consensus which owes more to Sinn Fein than the SDLP. All three are in regular touch with the Sinn Fein leadership and are, in reality, pushing the Sinn Fein agenda".
Ms Rodgers, a former member of the Seanad, said yesterday the leaking of confidential memoranda about private conversations was "disgraceful, dishonourable and reckless". The leaks seriously undermined the excellent work of the Department of Foreign Affairs, she said. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said the comments attributed to Ms Rodgers reflected the reservations a section of the SDLP had held at that time about Mr John Hume's continuing contacts with Mr Gerry Adams. Ms McAleese was, he said, "totally opposed to any kind of criminal or violent activity". He was proud of the work she had done in helping to bring about an IRA ceasefire.
Mr Ahern repeated his assertion that Fine Gael was involved in what he described as a "dirty tricks" campaign.
A Fine Gael spokesman described the comment as outrageous, adding that Mr Ahern had already been forced to withdraw a suggestion that Mr John Bruton had been involved. The party condemned the leaking of the documents, he said.
At the same time, Mr Bruton said a question-mark remained over the nomination of Prof McAleese because of her endorsement by the Sinn Fein president, Mr Adams.
A Fine Gael spokesman added that Prof McAleese's promise to build bridges to the unionist community "would now be impossible because of the Adams baggage".
Presidential candidate Ms Adi Roche said Northern Ireland should not be dragged into the campaign. The parties had maintained a bipartisan approach to Northern Ireland for many years and this should continue, she said. The Presidency was above politics.
However, Mr Derek Nally challenged Prof McAleese to say if she had been "pushing a Sinn Fein agenda" as suggested by Ms Rodgers. He would have problems with anyone enjoying a close relationship with Sinn Fein while a ceasefire was not in place.
A spokesman for the PDs insisted the party remained fully supportive of Prof McAleese - despite a few dissenting voices - because she was the best candidate for the Presidency and a woman of integrity.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach publicly thanked the Sunday Independent for not publishing details of other Department of Foreign Affairs documents, relating to contacts between Irish and British government ministers and officials, early in 1994, before the first IRA ceasefire.
The documents were supplied, according to the newspaper, by anonymous sources who said they were members of Fianna Fail determined to bring down the Taoiseach.
A Government source described this leak of 1994 material as "much more serious" than that involving Prof McAleese, because the anonymous people involved had threatened to release other material relating to the Northern Ireland peace process in order to destabilise the Government.