Taoiseach stands by Boyne site purchase

The Flood tribunal's investigation into the purchase by the State of the Battle of the Boyne site will prove that there was nothing wrong with the deal, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has said.

He said one of his friends, Mr Tim Collins, who was once a trustee of his constituency office and who made £250,000 in just over two years from the deal, never spoke to him in advance about it.

Facing questions in the Dail, Mr Ahern defended the purchase by the Office of Public Works of the 500-acre Oldbridge Estate in Co Meath from a company called Deepriver.

Besides Mr Collins, the other shareholders in Deepriver are the family of Mr Neil McCann, the multi-millionaire businessman who controls Fyffes Ltd, the fresh fruit distributor.

Deepriver bought the land for £2.7 million in November 1997. A solicitor based in Swords, Co Dublin, Mr Liam Moran, a close friend of Mr Collins, was involved in the negotiations of both sales.

Replying to Mr Brendan Howlin (Labour), Mr Ahern said he had not been aware of Mr Collins's involvement with the land during the negotiations with the OPW. "I was not involved in any of those details," he said. "I was not aware that a person I know outside politics was involved in it until the deal was concluded and that person at no time took any direct involvement in any of the discussions.

"When I say the individual is a friend of mine, to call him a close political friend would not be a correct interpretation. The person concerned is not actively involved in politics, but was a trustee of the office 14 years ago."

"There was no interference whatsoever by anybody known to me. The person concerned never discussed the issue with me until the deal was closed and I read about it in a newspaper."

"Neither would I have talked to the person concerned about any other deals or negotiations in which they were involved. Just because a person is known to me would hardly be a reason he or she could not continue with his or her commercial business."

He rejected an allegation that he had asked the Millennium Commission to award £500,000 for the purchase and development of the battle site: "No, I did not," he told the leader of Fine Gael, Mr Michael Noonan.

The Taoiseach welcomed the inquiries made already by the Flood tribunal, which has received copies of all relevant official papers. "The tribunal will examine all aspects of the issue and will find that nothing I, the individual concerned or any one else did was for anything other than a very good reason, to help relationships with Northern Ireland," he said.