Ben Dunne, Recalled unexpectedly to Moriarty Tribunal
At the Moriarty Tribunal a conflict has emerged between evidence given by the businessman Ben Dunne and that of his former financial adviser, Noel Fox. Both men deny any knowledge of a payment of £200,000 made to Charles Haughey in 1990. Mr Dunne says he assumes he authorised it and that Noel Fox requested him to do so.
Ben Dunne and Noel Fox used to be close friends but they fell out acrimoniously in a public dispute involving the Dunnes Stores trust. Today the two men were questioned closely about what they knew about a payment of £200,000 to Charles Haughey and who actually authorised it. Noel Fox denied any knowledge of this payment even though he had made another payment to Charles Haughey months earlier using the exact same route.
Mr Dunne earlier reiterated to the Moriarty Tribunal that he never intended to pay Charles Haughey £2 million. Mr Dunne was being questioned about the payments he made to Charles Haughey and the Far East companies, which he controlled, from which some of these payments came. Ben Dunne told the tribunal he had agreed to pay Charles Haughey around £900,000 and he had no idea how that amount grew to £2 million. Mr Dunne repeatedly rejected suggestions that he had ever agreed to pay £2 million. He said that if he had been keeping a record and had known the actual amounts being paid out, he would have said hold on.
Mr Dunne's appearance at the tribunal today was completely unexpected. His former financial adviser, Noel Fox, was supposed to give evidence first thing this morning. But after a delay in starting counsel for the tribunal said they wanted to ask Mr Dunne some further questions before they heard from Noel Fox.
The tribunal has focused on the two Far East companies Mr Dunne had control of, what their relationship was with trusts also controlled by Mr Dunne which were based in Isle of Man and in Switzerland, and who had control of the companies now.
These companies are important to the Tribunal because many of the payments Mr Dunne made to Charles Haughey were routed through them. Yesterday Mr Dunne said he had no memory of certain payments made to Mr Haughey from these companies. When asked had other similar payments been made to other people, he again said he could not recollect. But today he said he may have made other similar payments but not to Mr Haughey or any other politicians.
Mr Dunne has continuously rejected again suggestions that he had ever agreed to pay Mr Haughey £2million. Though he could give the tribunal an explanation as to how the extra money was paid, he has said he agreed to give Haughey around £900,000. Mr Dunne indicated that if he had kept records and known the actual amounts being paid out, things may have been different. Ben Dunnes former financial adviser, Noel Fox, is now being questioned about what he knew of these payments.
The Taoiseach has spoken at his shock at yesterday's revelation at the Moriarty Tribunal that the former Taoiseach Charles Haughey received payments of eight and a half million pounds from businessmen. Speaking in Poland, Mr Ahern said it was a deviation from the standards and ethos of Fianna Fail.
Mr Ahern said that it offended against the ethics and integrity "of what our party stands for in relation to the public institutions of our state." He said nobody should think that the behaviour of a few individuals in any way represents what the party stands for or what the State has stood for. With necessary safeguards, he said, similar occurrences can be prevented so that public office can never again be used for personal enrichment.
