Party claims no record of money raised

Fianna Fail says it has no record of money raised by a friend of builders Brennan and McGowan on behalf of Mr Burke and has referred the tribunal's inquiries to Mr Burke.

The tribunal wrote to the party last year after Mr Joe McGowan gave evidence of fund-raising activities for Mr Burke and Fianna Fail in the 1970s and 1980s.

These events, at Cheltenham and Ascot, were co-ordinated through a Mr Ernest Ottewell, who was described as "an ardent supporter" of Fianna Fail.

Mr Ottewell, an English businessman who lived for a time in Ireland, has since died.

In April 2000 the tribunal wrote to Fianna Fail's lawyers seeking biographical details about Mr Ottewell, his address and telephone number and details of his fund-raising activities for the party.

Two months later Fianna Fail replied, saying Mr Ottewell "was not at any time engaged in fund-raising at national level for Fianna Fail".

The party was not, therefore, in a position to assist the tribunal and it "respectfully submitted" that the tribunal should "redirect the inquiry to Mr Raphael Burke".

After Brennan and McGowan's evidence last year, the tribunal discovered offshore payments of £125,000 by the two men to Mr Burke.

They now concede that their previous evidence was wrong but insist the fund-raising did take place.

Mr McGowan said earlier this week that the amounts raised by Mr Ottewell were additional to the offshore payments, and he claimed at least some of the money went to Fianna Fail.

Yesterday Ms Patricia Dillon SC, for the tribunal, said the Fianna Fail letter showed the party had not received any money from Mr Ottewell.

Mr McGowan said he couldn't answer that. "I find it hard to believe; it comes as a surprise to me."

An accountant firm in the north of England had confirmed that Mr Ottewell was involved in fund-raising for Fianna Fail, he said.

Ms Dillon pointed out that Mr Burke, in his previous evidence, attributed the payments of £50,000 and £60,000 he received to the fund-raising efforts.

He gave Mr McGowan the number of the bank account into which the £50,000 payment was to be made.

However, the tribunal later learned that these sums came from offshore payments by Brennan and McGowan.

Ms Dillon asked the witness how he and Mr Burke could make the same mistake.

Mr McGowan said Mr Burke was wrong to attribute both payments to the fund-raising efforts of Mr Ottewell and Brennan and McGowan.