Ahern never asked anyone for money, tribunal hears

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, told the Mahon tribunal today he never asked anyone for money in his 27 years as a politician.

Mr Ahern told the tribunal during his five-hour stint in the witness box in Dublin Castle he was unaware that Mr Tom Gilmartin had give a cheque for £50,000 to former Fianna Fáil cabinet colleague Mr Pádraig Flynn in 1989.

He said he only became aware of the payment ten years later and had no recollection of ever being told by Mr Gilmartin during a telephone call about the payment.

"I would not ask anyone for a donation for myself or the Fianna Fail party," he said.  "I have never done it in 27 years of politics and I would not have done it in that phone call," he added.

Mr Ahern said that, although he had no memory of the phone call, he did accept he must have had telephone conversations with Mr Gilmartin.  Mr Ahern told the tribunal he can recall three meetings with Mr Gilmartin, two in October 1988 and one in September 1989 and at least one phonecall.

He said he first met the property developer in his constituency office above Fagan's pub in Drumcondra on October 10th, 1988.

When Mr John Gallagher SC, for the tribunal, put to him a claim by Mr Gilmartin that the two men met in 1987, Mr Ahern said he was "positive, certain and definite" that they first met in his constituency office in 1988.

Mr Ahern said he remembered the meeting because Mr Gilmartin was proposing a substantial development at Bachelor's Walk, which was in his constituency. In all the meetings, Mr Ahern said he never discussed Mr Gilmartin's plans to develop the site at Quarryvale into a shopping centre.

Later Mr Hugh O'Neill SC, for Mr Gilmartin, queried Mr Ahern on why his legal team had described the property developer as "shifty" and "dishonest" and if the Taoiseach "had orchestrated a hatchet job" on his client.

In an increasingly heated exchange, Mr Ahern denied orchestrating a campaign against Mr Gilmartin and said that he had not referred to him as "shifty" and "dishonest".

When repeatedly asked if he disassociated himself from the remarks, he answered several times that he personally had not made the remarks. They were made yesterday by his counsel, Mr Conor Maguire SC. "I did not say those words and I would not say them," Mr Ahern said.

The Taoiseach maintained throughout that Mr Gilmartin "had changed his position several times" in terms of his alleged meeting with Fianna Fáil ministers in February 1989.

Mr Ahern has now concluded his evidence.