Fine Gael will contact the Moriarty tribunal this morning to report a $50,000 (£33,000) cheque it received three years ago, and which it says it has been unable to persuade the donors to take back. The Fine Gael general secretary, Mr Tom Curran, said last night when the party became aware of the donation's "circuitous" route - after being contacted by Telenor on February 11th, 1998 - it was decided not to report it to the tribunal.
The outcome of a meeting with Telenor representatives two days later was examined by the party's trustees, according to Mr Curran. Legal advice from Mr James Nugent SC was that the donor and the circumstances did not fall within the tribunal's terms of reference. "The legal advice was accepted and Fine Gael did not inform the tribunal."
When asked by reporters why a "political" decision was made not to inform the tribunal, Mr Curran explained: "The political view at the time was that if Fine Gael went to the Moriarty tribunal it would have been disastrous politically. The legal advice clearly was that it did not fall within the terms of reference and the political advice obviously agreed. We have no evidence the decision was made to hide it from Moriarty. You would have to accept that senior counsel would be independent."
Asked who made the ultimate decision on the matter, Mr Curran said it was "very hard for him to say". However, he said a note on file, which he had read yesterday, stated Mr Jim Miley, then general secretary, had consulted Mr John Bruton, who was then party leader.
Mr Miley, according to the note told Mr Bruton the donation came not from Mr Austen but from Telenor "or back door from Esat". "Mr Bruton was distressed by this and said we must give the money back," said Mr Curran. Asked by reporters if the decision not to contact the Moriarty tribunal was Mr Bruton's, Mr Curran responded: "That would seem the logical conclusion."
When pressed, Mr Curran said he wished to withdraw the phrase "disastrous politically" for the party. He said his was a retrospective view and he was not employed as general secretary at that time.
Former party leader, Mr John Bruton, said yesterday he did not wish to comment on the payment to Fine Gael or the reason why it was returned. "You had better address your queries to Fine Gael. It's better to deal with it in a coherent fashion. They have all the documentation, I don't." Only when Telenor contacted Fine Gael did the party discover that Telenor, not Mr Austen, made the donation, said Mr Curran. Mr Austen, who was living in the south of France and was ill with cancer, had in 1997 telephoned the former Fine Gael general secretary and said he wished to make a personal donation of £33,000.