Print

Mail

wiki links

Ahern faces crisis over cash gift

"The Islamic courts are occupiers ... we will not accept the rule of the Islamic courts."

Kismayo protesters

Bertie Ahern, Ireland's popular and long-serving prime minister, appeared on state TV on Tuesday evening and admitted he had received significant cash gifts from friends during his marital separation.

Insisting that he had not broken any law or ethical code, Ahern conceded he had received up to 50,000 euros (US$63,443) in personal donations during his time as minister for finance in the early 1990s.

The questions of impropriety triggered by the payments constitute the worst personal crisis he has faced in his nine years as prime minister.

Given the nickname Teflon Taoiseach, Ahern has avoided the successive scandals that have undermined the reputation of many contemporaries in the governing Fianna Fail party.

For the past six days, Ahern had resisted calls to make a full statement.

The latest payments have been investigated by the independent Mahon tribunal.

Speaking on RTE television, Ahern confirmed he had received money in 1993 and 1994 from a group of 11 "long-standing friends."

The cash was given during his marital separation, he said, at a time when his savings had been exhausted.

"I was beholden to none of them and they were not beholden to me," Ahern said.

"It was a debt of honor that I would repay in full, and I would pay the interest on it. I have not paid any back because they refused to take it. I think they will now.

The difference of someone taking millions or someone taking hundreds of thousands and taking what's a relatively small contribution from friends -- I don't equate them," he added.

The taoiseach insisted he had broken no ethical, tax or legal codes. He named the donors -- one of them was a neighbor, another his solicitor, others businessmen.

Before making his statement, Ahern had received the support of the newly appointed deputy prime minister, Michael McDowell.

"I believe in [Ahern's] integrity and I believe that the taoiseach is an honest man and that this will emerge in good time," McDowell said.

Since coming to power, Ahern has presented himself as a man of the people -- highlighted by his frequent appearances in bars in the north Dublin suburb where he was brought up.
This story has been viewed 1271 times.