At the Moriarty Tribunal, Charles Haughey has denied that he was given preferential treatment by Allied Irish Bank when he became Taoiseach in December of 1979. The former Taoiseach was asked about the AIB's decision to write off almost £750,000 of his £1m debt. A further £110,000 was left on the books, interest free. Mr Haughey said that the bank's actions had nothing to do with the fact that he was now Taoiseach.
Charles Haughey's two hours in the witness box dealt again with this debt and how it was discharged shortly after he became Taoiseach. £300,000 was paid by the builder Patrick Gallagher. Mr Gallagher said that Charles Haughey had asked him for the money, Mr Haughey denies this. He says that he offered Mr Gallagher land to buy. The £300,000 was paid over as a non-refundable deposit on a land deal, but that land deal never actually went through.
Tribunal lawyers today said that the contract drawn up for this sale had some extremely unusual features including a very high price per acre. £750,000 of Mr Haughey's debt was paid off, the money came from an account opened the day Mr Haughey became Taoiseach. The rest, accumulated interest, was written off. Charles Haughey denied the bank had done this because he was Taoiseach. He said that all over the country similar substantial settlements were being made.
The Tribunal recommenced this morning after an eight-week summer break and Mr Haughey's evidence is expected to last several weeks. The Tribunal lawyers will also want the former Taoiseach to answer questions about his role in raising the medical fund for the late Brian Lenihan.
