Stockbroker said money was for constituency costs

O'Connor payment:A stockbroker who was involved in making a payment to Bertie Ahern in December 1993 has said it was not intended to be a personal donation, but was a corporate payment towards Mr Ahern's constituency expenses.

Mr Ahern had said that IR£22,500 lodged in his account in December 1993 was a goodwill loan from personal friends made following his legal separation from his wife, to assist with his legal expenses.

Tribunal counsel Des O'Neill SC said that as part of this payment, Des Richardson, who organised the collection, had told the tribunal that a bank draft of IR£5,000, included in the collection and made to him, represented a personal contribution by managing director of NCB Stockbrokers Ltd, Padraic O'Connor.

However, Mr O'Neill said Mr O'Connor told the tribunal that he had made the contribution on behalf of NCB Group, toward Mr Ahern's constituency expenses and that, in order to maintain confidentiality, it had been paid through Mr Richardson.

Mr O'Neill said that following discovery of NCB accounts, it was established that a payment of IR£6,050 was made by NCB Stockbrokers Ltd to Euro Workforce Ltd and invoiced as a health and safety survey on NCB's premises, however the survey was never carried out.

"Mr O'Connor believes that the payment of IR£6,050 made on foot of the invoice raised by Euro Workforce Ltd was the payment made by NCB in response to Mr Richardson's request for a contribution towards Mr Ahern's constituency expenses," Mr O'Neill said.

Mr Richardson denies having sought or received either the sum of IR£5,000 or £6,050 from NCB as a contribution made towards constituency expenses for Mr Ahern. He believes the IR£5,000 was received by him as a personal contribution made by Mr O'Connor toward the loan to be made to Mr Ahern by his friends."

Mr O'Neill said Mr O'Connor indicated that the payment was discussed at two later meetings with Mr Richardson in summer 2005 and summer 2006, when he informed Mr Richardson that the payment was made by NCB.

Mr Richardson said he informed Mr Ahern of the claim in the autumn of 2006.