Haughey says Traynor responsible for most of his finances

Former Taoiseach Mr Charles Haughey told the Moriarty tribunal yesterday his finances were managed by the late Des Traynor since 1960, even though extensive documentation from AIB in the 1970s shows Mr Haughey was heavily involved in his own affairs.

During two hours in the witness box yesterday morning, Mr Haughey (74) repeated the evidence he gave the McCracken tribunal three years ago about Mr Traynor's role in his affairs.

Mr Haughey is to give evidence for only two hours daily because of his age and medical condition. Mr Justice Moriarty has been given medical reports on him and permission to seek a further independent report.

Mr Haughey insisted a number of times yesterday that Mr Tray nor was heavily involved in his dealings with AIB in the early 1970s, even though bank documents from the time do not mention him. Mr Haughey said he, as the client, would have been called in by the bank manager to be "lectured", but that Mr Traynor would have been heavily involved.

In his evidence to the McCracken (Dunnes Payments) tribunal in July 1997, Mr Haughey said Mr Traynor "took over control" of his financial affairs from about 1960, so he had not known of the huge payments Mr Ben Dunne made to him between 1987 and 1991.

Yesterday Mr Haughey said Mr Traynor might not have discussed his AIB overdraft with him in 1973 before borrowing £150,000 from Northern Bank on his behalf to pay off some of his debts with AIB. "Not necessarily, I mean Mr Traynor, from a long time before this, was really managing my finances."

"Mr Traynor, upon my departure [from Haughey Boland], would have been made a partner in Haughey Boland & Co and from then on he would have taken to himself, or as part of the firm Haughey Boland and Co, the general management of my difficult financial affairs and overseen them."

Other evidence heard by the tribunal during the past year indicated Mr Haughey had dealings with Mr Traynor about his financial affairs.

Most recently, the tribunal has heard of Mr Haughey being told by Dr Michael Smurfit in 1989 that he would make a £60,000 contribution to Fianna Fail, and Mr Traynor then contacting Dr Smurfit with instructions to send the money to Henry Ansbacher Bank in London.

The tribunal has also heard evidence of £75,000 intended for Fianna Fail being handed to Mr Haughey on the morning of the general election in 1989 by Mr Mark Kavanagh, and subsequently being lodged to Guinness & Mahon Bank, almost definitely by Mr Traynor.

Mr Haughey is due to give evidence for two hours each morning next week, with no sitting on Wednesday. The tribunal is slowly making its way through the AIB files before coming to the question of where Mr Haughey got £750,000 with which he settled his £1.1 million overdraft in early 1980.