The former director general of Bord Failte, Mr Joe Malone, yesterday told the Moriarty tribunal of Mr Charles Haughey asking him for an investment in Celtic Helicopters during a visit to Mr Haughey's home in Kinsealy, Co Dublin.
It is the second instance heard by the tribunal to date of Mr Haughey directly soliciting money. Earlier this week, the former Minister for Health, Dr John O'Connell, told of donating £5,000 to the company after being requested to do so by Mr Haughey during a meeting in Mr Haughey's office in Leinster House. This was also in 1985, when Celtic Helicopters was being established.
Mr Malone said he had earlier been asked by Mr Haughey to be chairman of his son's new helicopter company but had declined because he was at the time on the board of Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus has a helicopter subsidiary, Irish Helicopters.
Some time afterwards he visited Kinsealy one morning along with a friend. "Ciaran happened to come in and Mr Haughey said to Ciaran, tell Joe and his friend all about Celtic Helicopters, your new investment, or your new company. Then, it was a kind of an off remark, the suggestion was made perhaps you would like to invest in it."
Mr Malone said he was anxious to undo any offence he might have caused by refusing to take on the role of chairman. He also made the investment, he said, because his son was friendly with Mr Ciaran Haughey. He invested £15,000. There has never been any return.
Mr Malone is a former executive with GAC, the US corporation which was involved in the manufacture of buses at Shannon between 1980 and 1986. That operation was originally set up as a joint venture with Bombardier, but GAC took over the entire operation in 1983. During the period just under 850 buses were built and sold to CIE. At the time of his donation to Mr Haughey, Mr Malone was a senior executive with GAC. The chairman of the corporation was Mr Cruse W. Moss. On Thursday the tribunal heard that he took out an investment in Celtic Helicopters in 1985. The amount is not known but seems to have been around £5,000.
Mr Malone is also a founder member of the old Fianna Fail fund-raising operation, Taca. He was a colleague of the late Mr P.V. Doyle on the board of Bord Failte. Mr Doyle also invested in Celtic Helicopters in 1985.
At the outset of yesterday's hearing Mr John Coughlan SC, counsel for the tribunal, revealed that a sum of £100,000 sent to a Swiss bank account in 1992, ended up in Mr Charles Haughey's account in the Ansbacher deposits. The account is known to have been used for paying bills from Mr Haughey's home and estate at Kinsealy, and other day-to-day expenses. The outgoings are understood to average around £300,000 per annum.
The cheque was from Mr Michael Murphy, an insurance broker from Trinity Street, Dublin, who said it was sent on behalf of a business colleague from Monaco, Mr David Gresty, who was investing in Celtic Helicopters. Instructions on where the cheque was to be sent to came originally from Mr Des Traynor, according to evidence given earlier this week. The cheque was sent to a Swiss bank account but subsequently, and at Mr Des Traynor's instruction, moved on to the Ansbacher deposits in Dublin, and Mr Haughey's S8 account. What happened to the money subsequently is not clear, though documents produced yesterday in relation to the money, came from a file in the name of Celtic Helicopters held by Mr Traynor and, after his death, by Mr Padraig Collery.
Two of Mr Haughey's children, Mr Conor Haughey and Mr Sean Haughey TD, gave evidence yesterday. They were asked about matters to do with Larchfield Securities, the company which holds assets for the Haughey children and of which the two brothers are directors. The two witnesses said they knew very little about the company's affairs. The matters they were asked about were, they said, handled by their father.
The hearing ended before lunchtime. It will resume on Tuesday at 10.30 a.m.