A former private secretary to the Taoiseach is expected to tell the Mahon tribunal he saw money in a safe in the Department of Finance when Bertie Ahern was minister there. Colm Keena, Public Affairs Correspondent, reports.
The evidence will be of assistance to the Taoiseach. In May, tribunal counsel Des O'Neill SC said Mr Ahern had told the tribunal he had saved up to £50,000 in cash in the period from 1987 to 1993 and had kept the money in a department safe and in a safe in St Luke's, Drumcondra.
Brendan Ward, head of administration at the National Economic and Social Development Office, was private secretary to Mr Ahern when he was minister for finance. He subsequently served as private secretary to Mr Ahern when Mr Ahern became Taoiseach.
He is listed on the tribunal's website as a witness due to appear "not before" December 7th.
Sandra Cullagh, a senior member of Mr Ahern's staff in St Luke's, is also listed on the tribunal website as a witness due to be called.
On Tuesday the tribunal resumes it public hearings into Mr Ahern's personal finances and is expected to focus on a number of non-foreign currency transactions from 1993 to 1995.
In his opening statement in May, Mr O'Neill referred to two cash lodgements totalling £50,000 made by Mr Ahern in 1994, which Mr Ahern had said came from his cash savings.
The only documents available were the associated lodgement dockets, Mr O'Neill said. "The tribunal is reliant upon the information provided by Mr Ahern as to the source" of the lodgements, he said.
Mr Ahern is scheduled to appear on Thursday and Friday, December 20th and 21st.
The first witness scheduled to appear in this series of hearings is Philip Murphy, the bank official who dealt with Mr Ahern's affairs at AIB, O'Connell Street, Dublin. He gave evidence earlier this year about a number of transactions in which foreign currency was involved.
Mr Ahern's close associate, former Fianna Fáil fundraiser, Des Richardson, is scheduled to appear over four afternoons, beginning on Thursday of next week.
Mr Richardson has told the tribunal he was involved in organising a collection for Mr Ahern in December 1993 that raised £22,500 from a number of Mr Ahern's supporters and friends. However, £5,000 of that money was by way of a draft paid for by a cheque from NCB Stockbrokers.
Mr O'Neill, in his opening statement, outlined how the managing director of NCB at the time, Padraic O'Connor, has told the tribunal in private session that, contrary to what Mr Richardson has said, he did not make a personal contribution to Mr Ahern's personal finances.
He said Mr O'Connor has told the tribunal he was asked by Mr Richardson to make a contribution to Mr Ahern's constituency operation, and agreed to do so on behalf of NCB.
Mr O'Connor is scheduled to give evidence immediately after Mr Richardson, on three afternoons between November 29th and December 4th.
Seven other people who the tribunal has been told made contributions to two "dig-outs" for Mr Ahern, organised in 1993 and 1994, are scheduled to give evidence to the hearings.
The first collection was organised by Mr Richardson and Mr Ahern's friend and solicitor, the late Gerard Brennan. The second collection, in which £16,500 was raised, was organised by Dermot Carew, owner of the Beaumont House pub.
There may also be witnesses called to give evidence about a dinner in Manchester in 1994 at which Mr Ahern has said he was given a cash gift.