A debt of more than £1 million was "of minor importance" to Mr Charles Haughey in late 1979, the former Taoiseach told the Moriarty Tribunal. Mr Haughey said he was fighting for his political survival at that time, and therefore his financial difficulties were not his main concern.
Mr Haughey was responding to questions from Mr John Coughlan SC, counsel for the tribunal, as to the damage that could have been done to his career had his indebtedness become public knowledge.
Mr Haughey agreed that political opponents could have used the information against him and he stressed that he was under intense political pressure at that time.
This was the period before Mr Haughey became Fianna Fail leader, after a leadership tussle with the late Mr George Colley.
Mr Colley's name arose in a different context at the tribunal when an AIB memo from September, 1979, carried the words "Borrowings abroad - G. Colley". Mr Coughlan asked Mr Haughey for an explanation of this. Mr Haughey said Mr Colley was minister for finance at the time and "that may be something to do with that".
Mr Coughlan said that exchange control implications would have surrounded borrowing abroad at that time. "Does that assist your memory at all?" he asked Mr Haughey.
"No, no, I can't make any sense of that," Mr Haughey said and repeated that Mr Colley's ministerial post may have had something to do with it.
The tribunal heard that a scheme to come to the financial rescue of Mr Haughey was dropped when potential investors backed out in fear of "good names being dragged through the Dail".
It had been intended that Mr Patrick Gallagher and at least two other investors would form a company which would buy part of Abbeville, thus discharging Mr Haughey's debts.
However, the late Mr Des Traynor met the AIB regional manager, Mr Michael Kennedy, on December 17th, 1979, and told him that the proposed rescue package was "completely out of the question".
