FF accounts:Bertie Ahern has said he is not in a position to dictate to his constituency organisation in Dublin Central and its accounts are not under his control. Paul Cullenreports
In response to a request from the tribunal for documents held by the constituency organisation, Mr Ahern's lawyers told the tribunal yesterday the operation of its accounts was a matter for the democratically elected officers.
Mr Ahern told Des O'Neill SC, for the tribunal, he had contacted the constituency officers earlier this week to relay the tribunal's request and had asked them to make the information available as soon as possible.
However, the officers had informed him that they could not give him the documents, which must go to their solicitors before being provided to the tribunal.
Last November, the tribunal wrote to Mr Ahern's solicitors in relation to a £5,000 cheque from Davy Stockbrokers to him which was lodged to a "BT", or building trust, account in the Irish Permanent Building Society in Drumcondra, operated by Tim Collins, a secretary of the finance committee in the 1992 elections.
Mr Ahern said yesterday he tried to contact Mr Collins on receiving this request for information but he was out of the country. He asked the building society for information but its manager said the request would have to come from the trustees of the constituency organisation.
Questioned by Mr O'Neill about the amount of information he had provided since the tribunal's request for information last November, Mr Ahern said constituency officers changed each year. He had asked the current officers to go through the records for the 1989-1995 period covered by the tribunal request and they were doing it to the best of their ability.
Referring to the tribunal's requests for information as intimidating, he said the detail required put voluntary constituency organisers in an unreasonable position.
No matter what he said to comply with requests, the tribunal came back with 20 more questions. "I started off being asked about my own accounts and my own personal accounts and then my daughters' accounts and father's accounts and maybe my grandmother's accounts, she died about 100 years ago. Where does it stop, chairman?"
Judge Alan Mahon said the reason the tribunal was looking at the account was because a cheque made out to Mr Ahern had been lodged in it. There was a lot of information that could have been provided.