Charles Haughey's former personal assistant, Catherine Butler, has claimed he did not know his minister for justice Seán Doherty, had authorised the phone-tapping of journalists and that he was wrongly forced out of office.
Mr Haughey resigned in 1992 when Mr Doherty claimed the then taoiseach was fully aware in 1982 that the phones of two leading journalists were being tapped. Mr Doherty said Mr Haughey had been shown transcripts of the conversations with Geraldine Kennedy and Bruce Arnold at that time.
In the article in the current issue of Village magazine, Ms Butler says there had been major difficulties involving Mr Doherty during the summer of 1982 and she had raised the matter with Mr Haughey.
"I've had so many complaints about him, Catherine, that when I come back from holidays, I am going to get Brian Walsh [ Mr Justice Brian Walsh of the Supreme Court] to chair an inquiry into Seán Doherty's handling of the justice portfolio," wrote Ms Butler.
The inquiry did not happen because the Haughey government lost power.
After the change of government in December 1982, rumours began to circulate in Leinster House that the new minister for justice, Michael Noonan, was about to reveal that Mr Doherty was responsible for telephone tapping or bugging.
"So I was asked to find him. He was with his wife, Maura, and Ray MacSharry in the Dáil restaurant. It was about five o'clock. Seán Doherty, Maura and Ray MacSharry went up to Mr Haughey's office and I brought in tea.
"Seán Doherty was absolutely denying that he had anything to do with that and that it was rubbish, lies, a Fine Gael spin, that sort of thing."
She adds that later that same evening she heard Mr Doherty say to Mr Haughey: "No, there is no truth in it."
She recalls another incident the following month. "Ray MacSharry came out to me and said, 'Would you come in, Catherine, he's not very well'.
"So in I went and Seán Doherty was sitting down at the very long table . . . and MacSharry had his hands in his pockets and Mr Haughey was standing looking out at the Department of Agriculture, breathing very heavily, in a dreadfully distressed condition . . .
"I said to him 'will I get Dr Alton for you?' and he said, 'No, Dr Alton cannot fix what is wrong here'. He said: 'I have just been told that my minister was bugging people'."
Ms Butler says that when Mr Doherty made his statement in 1992 that Mr Haughey had known about the bugging all along, she had wanted to make a public statement saying this was false.
"But Mr Haughey thought this would be a sign of weakness. He was going to retire in April - what difference did 12 weeks make . . . I just looked on in horror."
