Taoiseach's tribunal testimony in tatters
Grainne Carruth arriving to give evidence at the Mahon Tribunal yesterday
Related Articles
Friday March 21 2008
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's entire credibility as a tribunal witness was in tatters last night after his former secretary flatly contradicted his explanation of the latest tranche of cash to appear in his accounts.
Grainne Carruth's admission that she deposited £15,500 of sterling in Mr Ahern's building society accounts served to totally undermine the Taoiseach's claim that the lodgments were just pay cheques.
The revelations also raise further tax problems for Mr Ahern, as the Revenue Commissioners will have to verify the source of the money, which Mr Ahern's secretary lodged at the time he was Minister for Finance.
The disclosure prompted fresh calls from the opposition for the Taoiseach to resign and piled pressure on Tanaiste Brian Cowen to take action.
And it also did irreparable damage to Mr Ahern's claim that he never dealt in large sums of foreign currency, aside from the sterling included in the Manchester dig-out and some money from his friend Micheal Wall.
After another dramatic day at the Mahon Tribunal, Mr Ahern is now faced with a host of new questions about his account of his personal finances:
l Did he mislead the tribunal by claiming the lodgments were pay cheques?
l If not pay cheques, where did he get the money?
l Did he declare the payments to the Revenue Commissioners?
Mr Ahern had even claimed that he had salary records to back up the lodgments.
But confirmation of the sterling payments provides the tribunal with incontrovertible evidence that this is not the case.
Ms Carruth broke down in tears again yesterday as she accepted she did lodge sterling for Mr Ahern to three building society accounts, one each held by the Taoiseach and his daughters, Georgina and Cecilia.
Mr Ahern's former constituency office worker was warned it was a criminal offence to lie to the tribunal as she insisted she did not remember making the lodgments for Mr Ahern She also claimed to only recall the two accounts held by Mr Ahern's daughters -- not the third savings account.
Ms Carruth previously denied ever handling sterling on Mr Ahern's behalf or lodging any money to his account.
But she now accepts that she did not only lodge pay cheques to three accounts managed by Mr Ahern.
Tribunal counsel Des O'Neill pressed Ms Carruth on her previous claim. "What you said to the tribunal on that occasion, Ms Carruth, was factually incorrect, isn't that so?" Ms Carruth replied: "It appears so."
Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said the new details emerging over the last two days at the Mahon Tribunal "raise yet more issues of profound seriousness for the Taoiseach". And Fine Gael environment spokesman Fergus O'Dowd said new questions must be addressed by Mr Ahern.
Mr Ahern's spokesman said that the Taoiseach would not be commenting publicly on the evidence of Ms Carruth.
Mr Ahern's name currently appears on a list of tribunal witnesses who are not due to appear before May 20 next.
The Taoiseach's coalition partners stuck rigidly to their standard lines of support for the work of the Mahon Tribunal and declined to comment on the latest revelations.
- Fionnan Sheahan, Senan Molony and Aine Kerr
