The Taoiseach said he had not relied solely on Mr Charles Haughey's diaries when giving details in the Dail last week of meetings with the property developer, Mr Tom Gilmartin.

Mr Ahern was responding, on the Order of Business, to the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, who said the Taoiseach should have had the evidence himself and not had to rely on Mr Haughey to provide information for him from his diaries when he was Taoiseach.

"The tribunal could not rely on the person the Taoiseach relied on last week," Mr Bruton added.

Mr Ahern replied: "In relation to what I relied on for evidence, the reply from the [Government] Whip makes it clear that was not the only evidence. All the diaries were checked."

Mr Ahern said that perhaps Mr Gilmartin was correct in what he was saying.

"I cannot dispute those facts. I have not been in touch with Mr Gilmartin in recent times, and I do not know if Deputy Bruton has been. I cannot say whether he was right or wrong."

Earlier, Mr Bruton demanded that the Taoiseach use Government time to explain to the House the differences between the impression he gave last Wednesday and the "now known facts as regards his reliance on Charles Haughey for the preparation of his statement last week".

Mr Ahern said he had stated last Wednesday that if there was hard evidence that anything mentioned in his statement or in his replies to questions was wrong, he would be happy to make a statement correcting the record. But no one to date had provided him with any hard evidence.

"Reported claims by Mr Gilmartin - matters that apparently journalists put to him after I spoke - is not hard evidence. It has been given to me by the media, either directly or through the Government Information Service. If they conflict with statements made by me or others, they will have to be assessed by the Flood tribunal.

"If I come across any inaccuracies or matters which I believe are in conflict with my record here last week, I will keep the promise I gave on that occasion - a promise for which I was asked by Deputy [Ruairi] Quinn - and will make them available to the House.

"If what I say here leads to people ringing Mr Gilmartin and he says X, Y or Z, and then I have to come back to say he said X, Y or Z, or if someone rings him and says A, B and C and I must come back here to say A, B and C, I will be here for the rest of my life. And I will not do that."

Mr Bruton said Mr Gilmartin had been largely accurate in what he had said.