Results 4,401-4,420 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: If this issue had never seen the light of day, would they all have taken back the money and interest? Perhaps some of them would not. Certainly, it was my intention——

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: It was a loan.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: It was always my intention to pay back the loans with interest. While some people have difficulty with it, I would have done that. I do not accept for a minute that that was the issue. St. Luke's was set up by a legal trust. The beneficial owner of St. Luke's is the national Fianna Fáil Party.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I only use it as a Deputy. If I was not a Fianna Fáil Deputy but an Independent Deputy or a Deputy with another party, I could not use it.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I declare it as the rent. It has nothing to do with me other than in my capacity as a sitting Fianna Fáil Deputy. It has nothing else to do with me.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: My long-standing friend, Senator Tony Kett, was with me, as was Mr. David McKenna. Over the 25 years I have gone to matches in Manchester, by and large the same group of people, not all of them friends of mine, would have travelled on the flights. Most people would know the people who went. Certainly, Senator Kett and Mr. David McKenna came with me. I told Senator Kett that I received it...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Howlin put it as if it was a donation. It was a loan I had to pay back with interest, so I did not receive the sum of £60,000 as a donation. I received two loans which I said I would pay back and I always intended to do so.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I read that.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I have also gone back and read what I said. I said that one cannot associate oneself with business and with a company and say one is in business with or doing business with somebody and have £200,000 — I mentioned the figure of £200,000, although it subsequently turned out to be far more. I was not dealing with business, with a contract for business——

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I was not dealing with a business or doing business with a private sector employer of the size with which Deputy Lowry was. I do not wish to make life difficult for the Deputy — that is not fair; it was many years ago — but the context was that it was a direct business engagement. That is business and in business one tends to have contracts. I had an arrangement with friends who were...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: There was no connection between the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, moving from her position and these matters. For many years we have worked hard to try to attract exploration and the handling of some of our natural reserves. It is a long time since we set out terms to try to attract multinational companies to come to explore our seabed for exploration purposes. We have...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I do not think what I have done over the years in trying to assist others here in bringing in rules and standards about how we deal with our affairs has done anything other than help the image of politics. I complied with those rules as well. I would not like to see the political profession trying to wrap itself up in cotton wool and for everything to be seen to be done in a totally purist...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I do not think it is damaged.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: It was one thing to try to clean up the issue of huge donations and a small number of people giving sizeable donations to either my party or any other party and to bring in rules about what we can take, how we record it and so on. I did all that too, and I am quite happy to do that. However, if we get into a position where if one is in politics that one can have no friends and that if one...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Please.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Can I give an answer? I will tell the Deputy what I think. He is one of the youngest Members of the House — if not the youngest. If we get into that position, there will not be too many other young people coming into this House. We will damage politics because we should be open, fair and accountable — and I have been.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I have had to say today that perhaps it was an error, and I accept it is an error, but I do not think we should get ourselves into boxes where, forever more, nobody will go near politics. That is the damage that will come out of these things. The only person I can tell the Deputy who had the money is the person who gave it to me. I have given the name of the person who gave it to me.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I knew who gave it to me. I am telling the Deputy now who gave it to me. I still cannot say if he was the only person who collected it. I cannot be certain about that.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Over time I will be able to do so, because when people hear about it they ring in. A number of them have surfaced. As for the issue about how I got to the airport, it is unlikely that I walked.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I do not know.