A planning consultant who advised the Department of Energy on the sale of forest land at Glen Ding in Co Wicklow has denied he told officials to sell the site privately to Roadstone Dublin.
A report published by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell, three days ago said Mr Kiaran O'Malley advised Department officials that it was most unlikely any other party would match Roadstone's offer and that the land should be sold to Roadstone.
The CAG report concluded: "The attraction of concluding the sale at what was considered a good price outweighed the imperative to act even-handedly, which is a basic principle when the State is doing business. In this regard, in my opinion the Department did not conduct the sale in an appropriate manner."
Other interested parties should have had the opportunity to bid, he said.
Yesterday Mr O'Malley said he had recommended that the Department of Energy sell the site in Blessington by public tender and never changed his advice at any time.
He also said he was never informed of the interest shown in the property by rival quarrying firms, Hudson Brothers and Treacy Enterprises Dundrum, and was aware only of Roadstone Dublin and Johnston Industries.
Mr O'Malley's comments contradict the evidence given by the Department to the CAG.
According to the CAG's report, Mr O'Malley told officials in April 1990 that the Department "would be best advised in the first instance to invite offers by tender for the sale of the property".
The report continued: "The Department met with Kiaran O'Malley & Co Ltd on 18th October 1990 to discuss the Roadstone offer and was advised that it would be most unlikely that any other party would be able to match that offer and strongly recommended that the sale to Roadstone be pursued."
But yesterday Mr O'Malley insisted his only advice was to sell Glen Ding by public tender.
"My reaction was as written in the report, and I never changed it. As far as I am concerned, it was never changed," he said.
"When the debate about how to sell it arose, to the extent that it was any business of mine, I advised the Department in a letter to consider selling it by public tender. They could find out what the going rate was and could decide to accept it or not, depending on the amount."
Responding to the claim that he had discussed Roadstone's offer with officials on October 18th, 1990, he said he had no recollection of the meeting. Asked if he had recommended that the sale to Roadstone be pursued, he replied: "I deny it."
A Fianna Fail TD for Wicklow, Mr Dick Roche, said Mr O'Malley's remarks represented a very serious development.
"It means to me that the CAG had better explain the kind of examination he did of the file, and the then accounting officer of the Department of Energy must be brought into a public meeting of the Dail Public Accounts Committee and explain exactly what happened," he said.
"Two core elements of the defence of the actions of the Department of Energy have now disappeared and are based on falsities. The Dail has obviously been misled.
"There have been responses to Dail committees that the advice was given by Mr O'Malley, and it would appear that the CAG has now also been misled. All of the senior officials with the Department of Energy at the time must be called before the Public Accounts Committee. It is a very serious matter. There is clear evidence that there has been an attempt to misrepresent the facts of this case."
In a separate development, the Wicklow County Manager, Mr Blaise Treacy, denied a claim in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report that the council had recommended that Mr O'Malley should act as consultant to the Department over the sale.
He said: "I could not find any evidence to support the assertion that Wicklow County Council advised the Department with regard to the selection of the consultant and I cannot imagine why the Department would even consider consulting with us on such an issue."