Results 4,441-4,460 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Disclosures relating to the Mahon Tribunal: Statements (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: We have served the interests of all the people in our policies, not the interests of business interests, and we have worked to achieve that.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I do not think we have seen any cynicism or hypocrisy today. I still believe as strongly in probity as I ever did. Deputy Kenny asked two direct questions. He asked if I used that money for the purchase of my house. The answer is "No". I purchased my house with an Irish Permanent Building Society loan and some money from my current account which was not linked to this current account. I...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Kenny said the money was collected around the table, as if I was sitting there and watching it, but that is not what happened. At the end of the night, Mr. Tim Kilroe, who owned the hotel, gave me the money. It was not collected like that. If I sat there in any capacity and saw that happen, I would not have accepted it, and I think the Deputy knows that. It was not that kind of...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: There are no twists. I will give a factual position. I am conscious that I am not just talking to this House. The position that operates for most Members in this House today under the Ethics in Public Office Act is that if they have a fundraising function they put the funds raised into a political account and record the names of the donors and whether somebody has contributed over €500....

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I want to answer the Fine Gael leader's question. I opted to tell the whole truth, 100% truth, and did not say that something that was a personal sum was a political donation. If I had been in Manchester last Friday and received the same donation, I could have taken the list of names from Tim Kilroe, put that money into my political account and made a declaration. The reason I did not and...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I am making a distinction. I have no problem with the current situation but to say that what I did was totally unethical is untrue. If I had been hypocritical, with a slight adjustment, I would have said it was a fundraiser. It was not a fundraiser because I used it for myself and that was the reason I made the distinction. However, I still say it was an error. It was a lack of judgment...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I am not trying to cherry-pick the questions. The point I made on the political funds was that at that time there was no such thing as a political account. Everybody at that time would have lodged fundraising moneys, if they did not relate to the constituency, into their own accounts. I did not do so because I always kept them separate even though there was no obligation to do that. I...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: That is the point I am making. Because I was honest I said it was not a political donation and I kept it separate. Deputy Rabbitte referred to my Cavan contribution when the media asked me to make a lengthy reply — a question arises as to whether one should or should not do so in these instances, but I did so in order to be helpful — but they were certainly not my friends who asked for this.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I accept, if that is what is stated there, that it is incorrect. I made it clear throughout that it was not them. On the NCB issue, the initial loan which I received from eight friends, included money from Pádraic O'Connor. This money came to me in the form of a bank draft. It was not a cheque and could not therefore have been a company cheque. I think everyone is aware that bank drafts...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: ——was in Manchester six or seven times during 1994.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: A number of people, including the Tánaiste, said that there were a number of questions that I should answer in detail, and in my speech and my answers today that is precisely what I am doing.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The Tánaiste and members of Government were not concocting anything over the weekend. We were working on the energy Green Paper, the national development plan and the Book of Estimates.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I do not believe it was an issue for the Progressive Democrats in 1993 and 1994. I was in coalition government with the Labour Party at that time.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: As I said to my former colleagues who were in government with me at the time, it applies to them too, my apologies for that.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I say to Deputy Higgins again, I did not take and neither will I ever say I took it from business people. I accepted a loan that I paid back with interest. I received €38,000 — a loan from friends — and paid back more than €90,000. I accepted it from them because they were friends and I paid it back to them because they were friends. It was in that capacity that I got it.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: It was not because of anything else. There have been efforts to make them into business people who came together. They were long and trusted friends of mine for many decades. The issue of savings arose because of completeness. When I was giving the interview I gave the facts. There was no one sum of £50,000, but in my accounts and when I answered all my questions I showed where all my...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: While these were loans with interest, I paid them back. If I had thought that any of these issues would create this amount of conflict or fuss, it would have been far easier for me to pay it back on a bank loan. However, friends were friends and they tried to be helpful. They meant well. Ultimately it got me into more trouble than it was worth. However, I paid it back.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I do not accept that I was found out. I do not consider accepting genuine loans and paying back genuine interest is being found out.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: These allegations are made against me because I am uachtarán Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach. If every Member of the House had to deal with the same allegations and needed to go through all their bank accounts over a prolonged period and match up everything——

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The Deputy should ask her leader to ask the question and I will answer it.