Dear Sirs,
Move along - nothing to see here.
Regards,
John Cregan (Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Communications)
How long before Bertie is gone? Gormley is speaking on the Tribunal Issue later today apparently. Better late than never I suppose. Below is from RTE.
The Minister for Health has said the Taoiseach must act quickly to eliminate considerable public disquiet over the evidence given to the Mahon Tribunal last week about his financial affairs.
Mary Harney’s comments follow Progressive Democrats Senator Fiona O’Malley who has called on Bertie Ahern to clarify his sworn testimony to the inquiry.
Ms Harney said the evidence given by the Taoiseach’s former constituency secretary Grinne Carruth to the planning tribunal had caused considerable public disquiet.
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She said if she was going to raise the matter with the Taoiseach she would do it privately and not at cabinet level.
This is the time for the Greens to stand up and be counted. I saw Niall Brollachin being vocal on the issue and the rest of them need to follow suit.
Asking for a date of handover of power isn’t what’s needed here - this isn’t Blair giving power to Brown. This is lies and deception from the Taoiseach and he should be removed from office by whatever means necessary.
[quote=“therock67”]This is the time for the Greens to stand up and be counted. I saw Niall Brollachin being vocal on the issue and the rest of them need to follow suit.
Asking for a date of handover of power isn’t what’s needed here - this isn’t Blair giving power to Brown. This is lies and deception from the Taoiseach and he should be removed from office by whatever means necessary.[/quote]
Patricia McKenna was on the Newstalk Lunchtime Show and she was arguing that Bertie should resign now. Eamon Keane the presenter was putting the point to her that although Gormely is going to speak on the matter that this afternoon it is not good enough from the Greens that they had to wait for the PD’S to speak before they do. Valid point. He also said that he heard some very interesting things from various FF TD’s today but he couldn’t say anymore as they were off the record.
Pretty poor reaction from Gormley. Was hoping for something stronger than this.
Greens join calls for Ahern statement
Thursday, 27 March 2008 15:09
The Green Party leader, John Gormley, has said Taoiseach Bertie Ahern should make a clarifying statement following the latest evidence at the Mahon Tribunal.
Mr Gormley said such a statement would be in the best interest of the Taoiseach and the country at large.
He said there was considerable concern in his party and among the public about the latest revelations.
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The Minister denied that he was making a U-turn or that he had been forced to make a statement following comments by the Minister for Health Mary Harney earlier today.
He said concern had been expressed within the Green Party at a meeting between the parliamentary party and councillors yesterday.
But Mr Gormley said it was a matter for the Taoiseach as to when he made a statement.
Earlier today Mary Harney said the Taoiseach must act quickly to eliminate considerable public disquiet over the evidence given to the Mahon Tribunal last week about his financial affairs.
Her comments followed those of Progressive Democrats Senator Fiona O’Malley, who called on Bertie Ahern to clarify his sworn testimony to the inquiry.
Ms Harney said the evidence given by the Taoiseach’s former constituency secretary Grinne Carruth to the planning tribunal had caused considerable public disquiet.
She said if she was going to raise the matter with the Taoiseach she would do it privately and not at cabinet level.
Ms Harney said at this stage the Taoiseach was the only one who could address the public concerns.
Exceptionally lame response alright.
Yeah weak enough alright Larry. Not exactly demanding action.
It’s lame alright but it’s all that’s needed, FF now know that the Greens are putting on the pressure and that the coalition may be in trouble. FF bankbenchers and councillors now have the choice to put the pressure on aswell to secure FF’s power for the next four years of government.
Think its the beginning of the end now for Bertie. No matter how lame the statements are, Harney and Gormley have still come out publically called for Bertie to make a statement. I think that the evidence is going to get worse for Bertie as well so when they are calling for statements now think what’s going to happen down the road…
What do people think Biffo is going to be like as a leader?
Mr. Ahern is now claiming he won a raft of this unexplained money on horse races. The guy has no credibility left at all.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0604/mahon.html
Ahern ‘forgot’ about 13K lodgement
Wednesday, 4 June 2008 16:34
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has told the Mahon Tribunal he had forgotten he lodged around 13,000 sterling bought from a Manchester businessman who is now dead.
He also said he won some money on horse races.
Mr Ahern was explaining lodgements made on his behalf to building society accounts in 1994.
The tribunal discovered they were sterling cash, contrary to Mr Ahern’s earlier evidence.
Mr Ahern also accepted he was wrong to claim in an RT interview that the inquiry had not given him details of the sterling lodgements before the appearance of his secretary Grainne Carruth at the tribunal.
But he accused the tribunal of trying to ‘hang’ Ms Carruth and said he was willing to fight inquiry counsel Des O’Neill ‘tooth and nail’.
Des O’Neill SC for the inquiry questioned Mr Ahern about six lodgements made to Irish Permanent Building Society in 1994 totalling nearly 15,500.
Mr Ahern initially told the inquiry they were accumulated salary and expenses cheques in Irish punts.
But he admitted that he knew through tribunal documentation by 9 March this year that these lodgements were in fact sterling.
His former secretary Grainne Carruth broke down in the witness box ten days later and accepted that the lodgements were sterling.
Mr Ahern was asked about an interview with Bryan Dobson of RT in the US in which he claimed he was unaware of the sterling lodgements when Ms Carruth gave evidence.
Mr Ahern was asked by Mr O’Neill SC to accept this statement was totally untrue.
Mr Ahern said no. He said he felt very sore about this and that he was willing to fight Mr O’Neill tooth and nail inside or outside the tribunal.
He accused the inquiry of being totally unreasonable and trying to hang Ms Carruth.
Following an intervention by Chairman Judge Alan Mahon Mr Ahern said he did accept he was wrong to say he had not received documentation. But that he was too busy with the Dil, the European Council, and a trip to the US to reply to the tribunal before Ms Carruth’s appearance.
Mr Ahern said the money still came from saving his pay cheques but he had first purchased sterling from Manchester businessman, the late Tim Kilroe, intending for a while to buy property in Manchester.
He thought he had kept this in his safe and used it as a float for holidays and sporting bets in England.
He said he now accepted that this money had been lodged by his secretary.
And he accepted this was extra savings not included in previous statements to the tribunal.
Today’s appearance is Mr Ahern’s first free from the responsibilities of the Office of Taoiseach.
Mr Ahern has already faced eight days’ questioning at Dublin Castle.
He entered the building through the Revenue Commissioners Office, which is the same entrance used by the tribunal judges and a different entrance to other witnesses.
He is also scheduled to give evidence on Thursday and Friday.
Tax consultant tells of Ahern advice
This morning a tax consultant told the tribunal that he advised the then Taoiseach that he had no tax liability arising from his goodwill loans and Manchester donation.
Mr Ahern has told the tribunal that he received a total of 38,500 in dig outs from friends and 8,000 sterling from Manchester businessmen between 1993 and 1994.
Noel Corcoran said he was contacted by Mr Ahern around 2000 after an allegation about Mr Ahern was published in the Sunday Business Post.
Mr Corcoran said he told Mr Ahern that if the goodwill loans were repaid with interest there would not be any tax liability.
He also told him there was no liability about the Manchester donation because of the amounts involved and because Mr Ahern did not know the identity of the donors.
Mr Corcoran said he understood from the eight or nine-minute conversation that the loans had not been repaid.
He was not told by Mr Ahern that the goodwill loans were intended as gifts.
Mr Corcoran said he was asked to give evidence to the tribunal by Mr Ahern’s advisors.
He had known Mr Ahern for 20 years and did not keep a record of this advice.
That stuff yesterday was really taking the piss. Got a dead Manchester businessman to do his foreign exchange for him on money that he was using to bet on horses with. This guy didn’t have a bank account but had 13 grand sterling to splash on horses at the same time he was crying over his divorce because he was so hard up that he had to organise a dig out from his friends.
If someone came to me looking for a few quid because they were stuck and I found out they’d won 13 grand on the horses I don’t think I’d be too happy.
He’s persisting with the vague shit today:
Ahern: ‘I wasn’t trying to hide anything’
05/06/2008 - 11:31:44
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has insisted at the Mahon Tribunal that he was not trying to hide anything in the early 1990s.
Mr Ahern is facing further questions this morning about thousands of pounds worth of sterling that he says he saved with the intention of investing in an apartment in Manchester.
He says he subsequently decided not to go ahead with the investment, but was asked this morning why the sterling was lodged in parts over a period of months rather than in one lump sum.
Mr Ahern said he did not know why as he thought he had used the money as a “float”, but now knows otherwise.
He told the tribunal: “There’s one thing for sure, I wasn’t hiding anything. All the accounts were in my name”.
That’s some relief at the end. All along I was thinking that he was so unsure of everything and that all the transactions seemed so dodgy that who knows what really happened. But amidst all the confusion Bertie has seen the light. Turns out he’s not really sure what he was up to but it was all good whatever it was.