Existence of 1993 'dig-out' queried

O'Connor evidence:The Mahon tribunal has questioned whether a "dig-out" to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, made in December 1993, ever really happened.

The tribunal had heard that former managing director of NCB Stockbrokers Pádraic O'Connor had contributed £5,000 to a collection made for Mr Ahern by former Fianna Fáil fundraiser Des Richardson and the late Gerry Brennan, Mr Ahern's solicitor.

Mr Richardson had said that he asked Mr O'Connor for the money as a contribution to Mr Ahern, who was his personal friend.

However, Mr O'Connor had maintained that it was a corporate donation made by NCB for Mr Ahern's constituency fund and that he was not a personal friend of Mr Ahern's.

Mr Ahern had said he took the money on the basis that it was from close friends.

Counsel for the tribunal Des O'Neill said yesterday that Mr O'Connor's version of events was "diametrically opposed" to Mr Ahern's.

"If the tribunal accepts Mr O'Connor's version as accurate . . . it would mean that there was in fact no 'dig-out' producing £22,500 in the manner in which you believe," Mr O'Neill said.

"I don't understand that," Mr Ahern responded. Mr O'Neill said that much had been made of suggestions that the tribunal's proceedings were not "outcome neutral", that the tribunal was trying to "fit up" and "suit out" Mr Ahern and wanted to "tailor a particular result", as though there was no evidence opposing Mr Ahern's.

But Mr O'Connor's evidence had contradicted Mr Ahern's, Mr O'Neill said.

Mr Ahern said he did not see the evidence that way. He said the tribunal had proved that he had received money from Mr O'Connor, the only argument was what account Mr Ahern should have put it into. And he reiterated that Mr O'Connor had been his close personal friend.

"He was in my office endlessly when he was chairman of NCB," Mr Ahern said.

"I went to the K Club for him. I went to Druid's Glen for him . . . I knew his wife's family very well . . . I went to his own house. Now, if years later, Mr O'Connor wants to disown me, and he doesn't know me well, that's his bloody business not mine!"

Tribunal chairman Judge Alan Mahon said the issue was more complicated than Mr Ahern was suggesting.

"The money you received was a sum of £5,000, a bank draft bought by a company called Roevin . . . we have to look at that relationship and we have to investigate it so that we know precisely what was in not just your mind, but Mr Richardson's mind and Mr O'Connor's mind at the time," Judge Mahon said.

Mr Ahern said the argument was not whether Mr O'Connor gave the money, no matter what the route, the argument was whether it was personal or for the constituency.

He said there might have been a "misunderstanding".

Mr O'Neill said he wasn't sure if Mr Ahern had clarified anything for the tribunal. He said Mr Ahern's legal team had chosen not to cross-examine Mr O'Connor while he was in the witness box.

"If you are criticising me for not allowing my legal team come down and cross-examine a person that I considered a friend and who was very helpful to me in the 90s . . . I didn't do that," Mr Ahern said.

Judge Mahon asked if he could accept that there was a significant difference between his understanding of his relationship with Mr O'Connor and Mr O'Connor's understanding of their relationship.

"I do . . . but I don't understand it," Mr Ahern said.

He said he thanked Mr O'Connor for the contribution in January 1994, the month after it was made.

Mr O'Neill pointed out that in evidence, Mr O'Connor had said Mr Ahern never contacted him about the contribution, never thanked him and never had any discussion about the matter.

"I totally reject that - I did thank him," Mr Ahern said.