The first three witnesses called before the Mahon tribunal's inquiry into cash donations made to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 1993 and 1994 yesterday said they made their £2,500 donations from cash savings or personal cash they had in their possession. Colm Keenaand Fiona Gartlandreport.
The tribunal heard from its counsel, Des O'Neill SC, that no contemporary documentation recording any of the 10 cash donations the tribunal has been told were made to Mr Ahern has as yet been discovered.
Mr Ahern has said he was given £22,500 in December 1993 and another £16,500 in early 1994, and that this money was given to him after unsolicited collections were organised by a number of personal friends. The first collection included £15,000 in cash, which came from six persons who contributed £2,500 each. The second amount was all cash and came from another four contributors.
The three witnesses said they had each given £2,500 in cash towards the first collection, after they had been told of Mr Ahern's legal bills. Publican Charlie Chawke, former director of the Central Bank Jim Nugent and businessman David McKenna said they had been asked for the money by Mr Ahern's former solicitor and friend, the late Gerry Brennan, and his associate, former Fianna Fáil chief fundraiser Des Richardson.
Mr Chawke said the idea of his donation arose during a conversation at the counter of his Goat Grill pub with Mr Richardson and Mr Brennan. He said he sourced the money from personal cash savings.
When it was put to him by tribunal counsel Henry Murphy SC that he had never made a contribution to Mr Ahern, Mr Chawke said: "That is totally incorrect."
Mr Nugent also said he got his cash from personal cash savings. When Mr Murphy suggested the payment had never been made, Mr Nugent replied: "I reject that very much." Mr McKenna, who was 32-years-old in December 1993, told Mr O'Neill he had "no idea" what his financial situation was at the time. He said he sourced the money from personal cash. He said that in the period after the payment Mr Ahern, then minister for finance, had said to him that he had accepted the money on the basis that it was a loan.
Mr Chawke and Mr Nugent were asked if they had known in December 1993 that Mr Ahern had £50,000 in cash savings, and they said they had not known. None of the contributors were told that at the time the money was given to Mr Ahern, he had already taken out a loan to settle his legal bills arising from his marital separation.
All three witnesses said they had received cheques from Mr Ahern in the post in September of last year, at the time of the initial controversy about payments to Mr Ahern, and had later signed receipts acknowledging the cheques as repayment of the loans and associated interest. The cheques were returned to St Luke's in Drumcondra and sent from there to the Cari charity.
During his evidence Mr McKenna said he was not the source of the leak last year to The Irish Timesthat first disclosed the tribunal was inquiring into payments to Mr Ahern. His counsel, Hugh Mohan SC, said it appeared to Mr McKenna that the tribunal was the source of the leak.