THE Taoiseach insisted that his contact with Mr John Hume in advance of last week's critical Commons vote was confidential.

Amid noisy exchanges, he refused to confirm that he had attempted to influence the SDLP to abstain on the crucial Scott report vote, which was narrowly won by Mr John Major.

Mr Bruton said "In view of recent public speculation about the content of a conversation which I had with Mr Hume, I wish to say that I had a large number of contacts with Mr Hume prior to the summit, covering all aspects of the ongoing situation and the various options to be dealt with.

"As Mr Hume has indicated, all my conversations with him were, and will remain, confidential. I believe it is important, in the interest of the peace process, that I should be able to have entirely confidential and thorough consultations with political leaders.

"In all such contacts with him, and with the many other people to whom I spoke in the days leading up to the summit, I was guided by one overriding goal, that of securing that week, and without delay, the setting of a specific date for all party negotiations. This was, and is, the essential route to renewing the peace process.

"All conversations that I had in that period had that object, and that object only, in mind. Speed in setting a specific date was important in view of the unstable situation that had been created by the revocation of their ceasefire by the IRA. I am glad that I was successful in this task."

The PD leader, Ms Mary Harney, asked Mr Bruton if he would agree that it would he wrong for a Taoiseach to get involved lobbying anybody in relation to a Commons vote about an internal British matter. No matter how laudable the objective, it set a very bad precedent and damaged relationships with, for example, other parties in the Commons.

Mr Bruton said he had little to add to what he had already said. All discussions he had regarding all matters leading up to the summit were dictated by his over riding objective on behalf of the State, which was securing the early setting of a date for all party talks.

"I believe that objective was of such cardinal importance that it was essential it should be my overriding and sole objective. I want to emphasise again the importance of speed in that context."

Ms Harney said she had asked Mr Bruton about the involvement of a Taoiseach in domestic British affairs. "I have to say to the Taoiseach, despite the laudable objective, that you were wrong if you did it, which seems to be the case." However, she did not want to capitalise on mistakes because there had been too much of that in Northern Ireland.

Mr Bruton replied "I am satisfied that, far from making any mistakes, I believe my approach in this matter was absolutely responsible in the national interest. And I believe it has been vindicated by the results that were obtained and obtained speedily."

Asked by Ms Harney if the Tanaiste was aware of all the contacts and discussions he had had in the run up to the communique, Mr Bruton said that as a matter of practice he kept Mr Spring fully informed of contacts he had made.

The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, said that the Taoiseach had made clear the nature of his involvement in the telephone calls and the knife edge Commons vote. "I assume that you are now saying that you tried to interfere in the matter."

As far as Fianna Fail was concerned, it was a gross and unprecedented interference in the affairs of the Commons. He challenged Mr Bruton to say what justification he had for doing this.

The Taoiseach said that Mr Ahern was making assumptions without foundations, and repeated that any consultations he had had with Mr Hume would remain confidential. "I am not confirming or denying the content of any of those consultations, and I will not be confirming or denying them.

"The deputy's attempts to put words into my mouth in this matter is entirely irresponsible on his part."

He added that attempts by deputies to "create mischief" in the matter did them no credit.

Ms Harney said that since the Tanaiste was involved in the discussions, and had obviously approved of the strategy, he should defend the Taoiseach. He should not seek to hang the Taoiseach out to dry on the matter.

Mr Bruton said that Ms Harney was endeavouring to do what Mr Ahern was trying to do make assumptions and put words in his mouth. Ms Harney was not being particularly helpful in engaging in "tendentious speculation" regarding the matter.

Insisting that the matter was already in the public arena, Ms Harney said a Labour Party source had told the media that the first the party heard about it was at midday last Friday.

Mr Bruton said Ms Harney should not attach the degree of importance that she seemed to attach to speculative stories and attributable statements. "I am entirely satisfied that the general course of action I took in regard to this matter was justified in the national interest."

Mr Dermot Ahern (FF, Louth) said Labour advisers were going around the House saying openly that the conversation did take place and that they were extremely unhappy about it.

Replying to the Fianna Fail spokesman on foreign affairs, Mr Ray Burke, the Taoiseach said he had never received any approach from the British Prime Minister to make any specific suggestions of any kind on any matter to any other political leader.