What he said: The Minister of State for Justice, Frank Fahey, has made or issued a number of statements concerning his links with Moscow hair salon Tressals.
When first contacted about the matter a month ago, Mr Fahey said: "I had no involvement in it. I have no comment to make in relation to Irlasto. Thank you very much."
He would not comment further on the matter but issued a short statement through his department's press office: "The minister fully complied with the registration of his interests to the Standards in Public Office Commission for 1995 and 1996."
An article carrying these comments was published. It said a number of sources had said Mr Fahey did have an involvement in the salon. It also said a document seen by The Irish Times had stated the salon was owned by Mr Fahey's wife, Ethelle, and three others.
It also said Mr Fahey had not declared an interest in the salon in the register of members' interests for 1995 and 1996.
After the article appeared, a solicitor acting for Mr Fahey sought an apology, saying the article had wrongly implied that Mr Fahey had failed to disclose an interest he was obliged to disclose.
The article had stated, wrongly, that a senator had to declare an interest owned by a spouse and the solicitor's letter pointed this out. It raised no issue in relation to the quote carried from Mr Fahey.
A week later a report was published stating that Mr Fahey had been named in a letter sent in connection with Tressals by a solicitor in 1995. The solicitor was acting for Offaly builders who had worked on the Tressals premises in 1994 but whose tools had not been returned.
Mr Fahey was named as one of those who had engaged the builders.
When asked for a comment for that report, Mr Fahey, through his press office, stated: "As the matter is the subject of legal correspondence between The Irish Times and Minister Fahey, and as you already have misquoted the minister previously, he does not intend to comment to you."
A further report was published in the first week in June. It reported that board minutes of Irlasto plc, the Limerick company through which the Tressals salon was established, quoted the chief executive of Irlasto naming Mr Fahey as not wanting to deal with another Irlasto director in relation to the Tressals business.
When asked for comment for this report, Mr Fahey issued a lengthy statement through his press office. In that statement Mr Fahey said he had been misquoted in the original report.
"When I was asked if I was involved with Irlasto, I confirmed that I did not have an involvement with Irlasto. I did not at any time deny my involvement with the hairdressing salon in Moscow even though I am quoted in The Irish Times as having done so."
Mr Fahey said he had travelled to Moscow in the 1990s both officially as a member of the Oireachtas and as an ordinary citizen "supporting the investors including my wife who were attempting to set up a hair salon there. I did unpaid work on this project on behalf of the investors.
"I never made any secret of this - my involvement was well known by many people at the time."
Mr Fahey repeated that he had not been in breach of his obligations in relation to the 1995 and 1996 registers.
