Up to £1.75 million was raised by Fianna Fail fundraisers in a few weeks before the 1989 election, the Moriarty tribunal was told yesterday.
Former party fundraiser Mr Paul Kavanagh said this was at the same time as contributions were sought from businessmen including Mr Larry Goodman and Mr Oliver Barry to pay for a liver transplant for the late Mr Brian Lenihan.
He said Mr Charles Haughey asked him to establish the fund. He drew up a list of people he thought might contribute. When he presented the list - which was recently found in a box in his cellar - to Mr Haughey, he said to strike Mr Ben Dunne's name off it. Mr Haughey may have struck the name off himself.
He did not ask Mr Haughey why Mr Dunne's name was deleted. "I never asked for a reason. His style was, and I had worked with him for 10 years, I knew when he did something like that, that was it. You didn't ask why."
Asked by Mr Jerry Healy SC, for the tribunal, why he thought Mr Dunne would support Fianna Fail, he said he thought Mr Dunne had given money to the party at election time in constituencies where his businesses were.
Mr Kavanagh said contributors were asked to direct payments to the party leader's account. One of these was the director of fishing companies in Donegal, Mr Seamus Tully. He gave evidence that Mr Kavanagh contacted him and told him "The Boss" was setting up a fund to cover Mr Lenihan's expenses.
He was told seven to 10 people would be asked for £20,000. Mr Tully gave this amount and Mr Lenihan later thanked him.
Mr Healy put it to Mr Kavanagh that the total excess in the party leader's account in 1989 was £220,000 and most of of it went into the account when he was fundraising for Mr Lenihan. Counsel suggested this excess was money raised for Mr Lenihan.
Mr Kavanagh said this wasn't necessarily the case. There was an election then and between £1.5 and £1.75 million was raised in "those couple of weeks". He said he also believed there were people who had great admiration for Mr Haughey who would send cheques for his attention to be used at his discretion.
He agreed with counsel that this was just his opinion. He couldn't name anybody who would have made such contributions. "Once again we are getting into the area of constituency fundraising, personal fundraising by candidates in different constituencies, election fundraising for the party, and all that. It's a whole grey area as you well know," Mr Kavanagh said.
Mr Healy suggested to him that his speculation was "muddying the waters" rather than clarifying things. "Well then, in that case I'll withdraw it," Mr Kavanagh said.
He said he would not have been aware the party was trying to get some money for Mr Lenihan's operation from the VHI at that time. His fundraising took place in May and June 1989 and the VHI made its payment in August.
Contrary to earlier evidence he had given, he believed he would have discussed the possibility of a VHI payment with Mr Haughey. "At some stage somebody told me they (the VHI) were likely to come up with 50 grand," he said.
Counsel put it to him that the only person who would have known about this was Mr Haughey. Mr Kavanagh said at the time he would have socialised on a number of occasions with board members of the VHI and could have heard it from them.
Evidence was also given by Dr Edmund Farrell, former managing director of the Irish Permanent Building Society, who said the society made a contribution to the Lenihan fund after being contacted directly by Mr Haughey. He said he never promised to contribute £40,000, a figure noted next to his name on Mr Kavanagh's list.
Counsel said it had not yet been possible to contact all those named on the list and the tribunal was adjourned. An announcement will be made later on when it will sit again.