Moriarty urged to include CRH in scope of inquiry

Pressure is growing on the chairman of the Moriarty tribunal when it resumes this week to retract his statement barring himself from investigating Cement Roadstone Holdings because of his former shareholding in the company.

Mr Justice Moriarty said last June that his £500,000 shareholding precluded his inquiring into any matter concerning either CRH or the controversial sale of State land at Glen Ding Wood, Co Wicklow, to a subsidiary of the company in 1991.

However, the latest revelations, showing more than half of the directors of CRH in 1987 held money in Ansbacher accounts, operated by Mr Charles Haughey's personal financial adviser, Mr Des Traynor, from CRH offices, have made it more difficult for the chairman to maintain his stance, say legal sources.

The new evidence, compiled by Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment officials, has been forwarded to the tribunal which is investigating payments to the former Taoiseach, including those made through Ansbacher accounts.

The Blessington Heritage Trust, which has been seeking for the terms of reference of the inquiry to be broadened to include the Glen Ding affair, is to make a submission, calling on Mr Justice Moriarty to clarify his position.

Mr Frank Corcoran, chairman of the trust, said it was "extraordinary that the one company in Ireland which cannot be investigated is CRH and that any payment from Roadstone discovered by the tribunal will not be followed up".

He said: "We have full confidence in the chairman and are happy to have him look into any matters in relation to CRH or Glen Ding. We don't see any conflict of interest."

The trust, which won a High Court case in June 1997 against the rezoning of Glen Ding from amenity to quarrying, will also be seeking legal representation at the tribunal.

The Labour TD Mr Brendan Howlin said Mr Justice Moriarty's position was untenable.

If he did not reverse his decision it could be necessary to appoint a co-chairman to investigate any CRH issues that could arise.

"It's quite clear now that Haughey's private banker was running a private bank from CRH. That has to be examined in full."

The Green Party TD Mr John Gormley called on the leaders of the political parties to say whether they had been told that Mr Justice Moriarty would not be able to investigate any CRH matters when he was appointed in 1997.

The former attorney general, Mr David Byrne, said he informed the leaders of this fact.

Mr Gormley said: "In our case all we got was a message from the Taoiseach's office to say that Mr Justice Moriarty had been appointed and had we any problem with that. There was nothing about CRH."

As well as calling on the chairman to reverse his decision, Mr Gormley said there was a need for the Dail to debate the Public Accounts Committee report on the sale of Glen Ding.

The report, published last April, rejected the official explanation of why the property was sold for £1.25 million to Roadstone Ltd without going to public tender.

An opening statement on the latest phase of the tribunal's investigation will be given on Wednesday.

It will adjourn the following day to allow legal teams attend a Supreme Court sitting to decide costs in the case which Mr Haughey took against the tribunal last year. The court rejected Mr Haughey's "root and branch" assault on the tribunal. But it quashed 36 orders of discovery made against financial institutions and said Mr Haughey and his family had a right to be informed about such orders in advance and be given an opportunity to make representations.

Numerous discovery orders had to be reissued as a result.