Taoiseach defends Minister

A Tipperary court had accepted that the Minister for Defence had not acted improperly in a case relating to the unauthorised collection of swill, the Taoiseach told the Dáil.

Mr Ahern said Mr Smith, Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary North, had been called to give evidence in the case: "The court accepted his evidence and the Minister made it absolutely clear - he told me earlier that I can say this, because we do not normally talk about what goes on in the courts - that he has always complied with requests and co-operated with the Garda. He totally denied the matters that were staged against him and the court accepted that."

The Taoiseach was replying, to questions from the Fine Gael leader, Mr Michael Noonan, and the Labour leader, Mr Ruairí Quinn, who asked if it was not incredible that the Minister was cited as a witness in the court case. "Serious questions must be asked. There may well be a good explanation of what happened, but the members are entitled to hear it," he said.