Ahern failed to tell truth over mystery €165,000
Former Irish PM likely to be expelled from party after corruption tribunal issues damning verdict
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Your support makes all the difference.A long-running tribunal delivered a damning indictment of the former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern yesterday, saying his version of how he came by large sums of money while in office was “untrue”. The report said corruption “affected every level of Irish political life” and those “with the power to stop it were frequently implicated in it”.
Mr Ahern, previously regarded as one of the heroes of the Irish peace process, faces expulsion from the Fianna Fáil party he triumphantly led to three general election victories.
The party moved swiftly to dissociate itself from its former leader yesterday, saying his future would be decided next Friday in a special vote by the party's national executive, and that the report should be referred to the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Allegations of widespread corruption have often been made against Fianna Fáil. But the report, which pulled no punches in making it clear it did not accept Mr Ahern's evidence, went further than many expected. It stopped short of accusing Mr Ahern of corruption but only because it could not identify how the €165,000 (£137,000) in question had reached him, despite investigations which have lasted 15 years and cost €250m.
It rejected many parts of the evidence given by Mr Ahern, including his claim that he won large sums betting on horses and had received other amounts from "dig-outs" contributed by friends and supporters. But the tribunal, led by Judge Alan Mahon, said: "Much of the explanation provided by Mr Ahern as to the source of the substantial funds was deemed ... to be untrue."
The Fianna Fáil leader, Micheal Martin, said Mr Ahern had betrayed the trust of the public and his party, adding: "The receipt by a senior office holder of large amounts of money which a sworn tribunal has held is of unclear origins and the failure to give any credible explanation requires an unequivocal response."
Mr Ahern was forced to quit in 2008 amid growing discontent at his answers to the tribunal, and mounting allegations of irregularities in his personal financial affairs. The tribunal also criticised other prominent Fianna Fáil figures, including former minister Padraig Flynn, who it found "wrongfully and corruptly sought a substantial donation" from a developer. It said another party figure, the late Liam Lawlor, "conducted a personal business in the course of which he corruptly sold his expertise, knowledge and influence for personal financial reward".
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