The Progressive Democrats last night said that they were "considering" the disclosure that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern bought his home from a businessman who attended the 1994 Manchester dinner where he received £8,000 sterling.
Mr Ahern had not informed Tánaiste and Progressive Democrats leader Michael McDowell about the issue before it was made public last evening, Progressive Democrats sources said last night.
Unwilling to say too much until further information becomes available, a PD spokesman said: "We are not making any comment on this story this evening. We are considering it." Delivering terse replies in the Dáil yesterday, Mr Ahern disagreed with Mr McDowell's assertion on Tuesday night that he would put together a list of all of the people who attended the Manchester event.
"I have stated that I have attended many functions and social events in Manchester. To try to piece together a list of every person who attended each individual event from the time I first began going to Manchester as a councillor, a deputy and a backbencher is impossible.
"I cannot do it and will not be able to do it. I have explained this to the House, to the public and everywhere else. I have no problem getting a list of people but I cannot reconstitute a list. That is the position," he said.
So far, Mr Ahern has publicly named just two people who attended the event: the late Tim Kilroe, in whose hotel the event took place, and John Kennedy, who had earlier publicly stated that he was there.
However, he did not name Michael Wall on Tuesday evening or yesterday, even though Mr Wall had spoken to RTÉ reporter Ronán Mac Con Iomaire earlier in the week, when he said that he had been at the event.
Fine Gael TD Fergus O'Dowd said he was amazed that Mr Ahern had not been able to identify the Manchester-based businessman when he dealt with questions on his finances in the Dáil on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"[ Mr Wall] had indicated publicly that he had attended the meeting in Manchester, but Mr Ahern has refused repeatedly to name him in the Dáil yesterday or today, when he was asked to name the people at that meeting.
"It now transpires that Michael Wall sold the house that the Taoiseach now lives in. This new development is truly bizarre," said the Louth TD, who has appeared frequently for Fine Gael during the controversy. It stretches credulity even further that the Taoiseach has already asked us to accept that the Taoiseach did not know that this man was at the dinner in Manchester.
"This revelation also begs the question as to where stands the PDs' demand to have a full disclosure of attendees at the meeting," Mr O'Dowd said, adding that the Taoiseach must once again return to the Dáil to make "a complete disclosure". Labour TD Eamon Gilmore said this simply confirmed that we had not yet got a comprehensive and fully truthful account.
