In December 1979 Mr Charles Haughey became leader of Fianna Fail and Taoiseach for the first time. During that month and January/February 1980 it seems a number of wealthy people came forward and provided the £750,000 Mr Haughey needed to settle a £1.14 million debt he had with AIB.
Yesterday counsel for the Moriarty tribunal, Mr John Coughlan SC, revealed that the property developer, the Gallagher Group, through Mr Patrick Gallagher, gave Mr Haughey £300,000 some time in December 1979 or early January 1980.
The funds being used to settle Mr Haughey's AIB debt were placed in an account in Guinness & Mahon (G & M) bank controlled by the late Mr Des Traynor. Mr Traynor opened the account in his own name on December 11th, 1979, the very day Mr Haughey was being elected Taoiseach by the Dail. The first lodgement was made on that day, of £150,000. Five days later £355,000 was lodged. On January 18th £50,000 was lodged, and on January 26th, a further £150,000 was lodged. On February 14th, the final amount, £80,662.55, was lodged. .
The first lodgement of £150,000 has been linked to a statement found in the G & M archives, showing the funds coming from the "Rotunda branch" and going to an account in G & M named Amiens Securities, another account controlled by Mr Traynor. The Rotunda mentioned is the Bank of Ireland branch near the Rotunda Hospital in O'Connell Street, Dublin. That branch has already been mentioned by the tribunal in relation to Carlisle Trust, one of the main companies owned by the property developer Mr John Byrne.
Documents in relation to the Amiens account could not be found in the G & M archive. The G & M finance director, Ms Sandra Kells, told the tribunal the bank had had a policy since the late 1970s of photographing all account statements. However, this did not seem to have happened in relation to the Amiens account, or else it did and the records were subsequently removed or destroyed without the bank's knowledge.
The Bank of Ireland, for its part, does not keep records of transactions for more than six years. So documents which might show the money trail in relation to the first £150,000 deposit do not seem to be available.
"It has not proved possible to date to establish any link" between the £150,000 and any person other than Mr Traynor, Mr Coughlan said. The same is true of the other £150,000, he said. He did not mention the other lodgements.
The £300,000 given by the Gallagher Group was a deposit paid in relation to a deal whereby it would buy 35 acres of agricultural land at Kinsealy from Mr and Mrs Haughey, at £35,000 per acre (£1.225 million in total). A seven-paragraph agreement between Mr Gallagher and Mr and Mrs Haughey, dated January 27th, 1980, was read out by Mr Coughlan. The document seems to have been drafted without the aid of solicitors and does not include the normal conditions concerning such arrangements. It is clear from it that the deposit had been paid.
The deal was dependent on the Gallagher Group finding a stud farm near Dublin agreeable to the Haugheys, but if the deal did not go ahead, the Haugheys were to keep the 25 per cent deposit. Mr Laurence Crowley, who was receiver to the Gallagher Group after it collapsed in 1982, has told the tribunal no evidence was found by him of any effort to effect the deal. It never went ahead. The Haugheys kept the deposit, and later paid the taxes which became due.
Mr Coughlan said the tribunal had not yet established a connection between the Gallagher payment and the settling of Mr Haughey's debt with AIB. However, the arrangement was being scrutinised during the tribunal's examination of Mr Haughey's relations with AIB "because of the close temporal connection". Mr Gallagher, who now lives in Africa, has not yet made a statement but "may be available to give evidence", the tribunal was told.
The tribunal is to examine Mr Haughey's relationship with AIB and various investments in Celtic Helicopters over the coming week or so. It will then adjourn for three weeks and when it resumes will concern itself with payments to mainly the former minister, Mr Michael Lowry. From comments made by Mr Coughlan it appears the tribunal may be investigating payments to some other "holder of public office" who is not or was not a government minister. This may involve a reinterpretation of its terms of reference.
Having dealt with these matters the tribunal will then return to dealing with Mr Haughey's affairs. It will deal with accounts held in G & M which were in any way linked to the former Taoiseach. The tribunal, Mr Coughlan said, "will also examine in greater detail the Ansbacher accounts and the memorandum accounts".
All these matters are to be examined in a public session likely to run for several weeks.