THE full statement issued yesterday by the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, is as follows:
There have been incorrect suggestions that I gave conflicting evidence to the Dunnes Tribunal and the Beef Tribunal.
The evidence I gave to the Beef Tribunal related to normal national fund raising arrangements before I became party leader and not to what I was required to do to deal with the party's financial crisis in 1991, and again, more acutely, in 1994. Contrary to reports, I also indicated in my evidence to the Beef Tribunal that, as party leader, I would be concerned with national fund raising, and it flows from that, that I would be aware of contributions with which I was directly concerned.
When the financial difficulties of 1991 and 1994 were overcome, normal arrangements were resumed, and those involved in party fund raising do not now normally inform me, as party leader, in any regular or systematic way, of the amount of donations received from particular businesses.
Extract from Beef Tribunal transcript (Question 19 to John Bruton)
19. Q. As far as the donations are concerned, apart altogether from general election periods, I take it that there are other occasions upon which the party would seek funding to help it?
A. Em, yes. Yes, but not, I am not aware of any such seeking of funds during the period in which the Tribunal is, with which the Tribunal is concerned, because I was not a trustee of the party at that time. I did not become a trustee of the party nor was I in any way concerned with this national fund raising activities until I became leader of the party.
So I would not be able to give you any assistance on that point. I have no doubt that, that the party will be able to provide the relevant information on the same basis that we provided the information as indicated via Mr Murray in the letter you read out this morning.
(Note: This Beef Tribunal evidence was given on 22 June 1992 and not in July 1991 as mistakenly referred to by counsel for the Dunnes Payments Tribunal when questioning the Taoiseach on 28 April 1997.