Dermot Ahern, Appears before Flood Tribunal
It has emerged at the Flood Tribunal that the Taoiseach personally phoned builder, Michael Bailey, in June, 1997, to ask him about allegations of payments to Ray Burke. The call was made at the same time as the Minister for Social, Family and Community Affairs was in London interviewing Joseph Murphy Junior about the same allegation. In the witness box at Dublin Castle, Dermot Ahern said he had only found out recently about his party leader's call.
Mr. Ahern has told the Flood Tribunal he cannot recall phoning Joseph Murphy Junior twice on the morning of the day Ray Burke admitted to the Dáil that he received money from JMSE. He categorically denied that, during those conversations, he was told that the cheque stubs for the Ray Burke payment had been identified. He said that he only found that out during the tribunal.
The Minister also said that he could not confirm or deny that he had asked Joseph Murphy Junior to provide ammunition for Ray Burke in relation to political donations to political parties for his special statement to the Dáil. He also denied saying that Fianna Fáil wanted to avoid a Tribunal at all costs and would put Ray Burke out to grass if necessary. Counsel for the Murphy Group, Garrett Cooney said that they could provide phone records to prove that there had been contact between Joseph Murphy junior and Dermot Ahern on the day in question.
He was challenged earlier on his recollection of other conversations with Joseph Murphy Junior. Mr. Cooney put it to Minister Dermot Ahern that Joseph Murphy Junior would say that, at their first meeting in 1997, he asked whether Mary Harney was going to "row in with Fianna Fáil." He would say that Mr. Ahern replied that she did not have much choice as her party had nearly been obliterated in the election. Mr. Ahern said he had no recollection of that conversation.
Minister Ahern told the tribunal about how he was sent to London to meet Joseph Murphy Junior in order to check out allegations that the former Fianna Fáil minister, Ray Burke, had received money from Murphy's company. He said that while Ray Burke had told the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, there was nothing to worry about, the Taoiseach felt that he had not got to the bottom of the allegations. However, Dermot Ahern told the Tribunal that following the London meeting, Mr. Murphy told him that he understood there had been a meeting between the Taoiseach, Ray Burke and Michael Bailey to discuss the issue.
Mr. Ahern said that the Taoiseach also denied strongly that he had any meeting with Mr. Bailey and Ray Burke at the time the coalition was being formed in 1997. Dermot Ahern also said that Bertie Ahern had information from Mary Harney that a senior Murphy executive had said that 60 thousand pounds had been paid to Ray Burke for planning permission.
