The spokesman for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform denied to two journalists last week that representations had been made for day release of Philip Sheedy.
The denials by Mr Noel Waters, departmental spokesman for the Minister for Justice, contrast with the Taoiseach's statement outside Government Buildings on Monday night that he told "several journalists" that he had made representations on behalf of Mr Phi lip Sheedy snr to secure day release for his son.
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, told RTE's This Week on Sunday that Mr Ahern had mentioned the matter to various people, including "a journalist" on the fringes of the Irish Management Institute Conference in Killarney, opened by the Taoiseach on Friday, April 23rd.
Mr Ahern told reporters in Ad are, Co. Limerick, on Sunday: "I mentioned it in the course of the week to journalists". Government sources have named journalists who were said to have been told by the Taoiseach that he made in quiries of the Department of Justice about day release for Sheedy.
One of them, Cliff Taylor, Finance Editor of The Irish Times, has confirmed that he spoke to Mr Ahern after his mid-morning press conference at the IMI conference in the Great Southern Hotel on Friday, April 23rd.
"I informally asked him some questions about the matters current on the Sheedy case at the time, for example, whether the retired judges would have to appear before the Dail committee," Mr Taylor said. He added: "It is possible he said that representations had been made to him about Sheedy and that I misheard him, but I have no such recollection whatsoever. His `handlers' were in the background trying to get him away."
The political correspondent of the Sunday Business Post, Mark O'Connell, confirmed on RTE yesterday that Mr Ahern had spoken to him about the Sheedy affair at "a chance meeting" with him in a pub in Glasnevin on Sunday, April 18th, about 6.30 p.m.
"He told me the story about how he had received an approach from Philip Sheedy's father who had worked in a FAS centre in his constituency. He told me that he referred the matter to John O'Donoghue because it was a law-and-order issue and it related to somebody who was in custody.
"John O'Donoghue had refused the release which he, Mr Sheedy's father, had been looking for on behalf of his son," Mr O'Connell said. He later told The Irish Times that it was his understanding that he was not being "given" the story to write up.
Brian Dowling of the Irish Independent's political staff asked the Department of Justice last Sunday week, April 25th, if any representations had been made for day release for Philip Sheedy. The Department's spokesman, Mr Noel Waters, responded: "No, there had not been."
The Political Correspondent of The Irish Times, Mark Brennock, posed a similar question to Mr Waters on Tuesday or Wednesday, April 27th/28th. Did anyone make representations to get temporary release for Philip Sheedy at any stage? Mr Waters replied: "No." Asked why he had responded "No" to the two queries about representations, Mr Waters said last night that he had "a vague recollection" of Mr Dowling's call and genuinely no recall of Mr Brennock's request.
"My information at that time was that the representation had gone from private secretary to private secretary asking `what's the story on this?'. As a former private secretary myself, representations to me mean `can you get this guy out' or `can you transfer him'. That type of representation had not been made," Mr Waters said. "Please state," he added, "that I did not speak to the Minister about this."
