The Taoiseach said he could not recall Mr Dick Spring telling him about an anonymous note claiming that Mr Ray Burke had demanded £30,000 for himself and Fianna Fail during a meeting with representatives of the Rennicks company.

However, Mr Ahern added that if Mr Spring said he had raised the matter with him, he accepted this.

Mr Ahern said during a question-and-answer session that he could recall two conversations with Mr Spring, one in Washington at a dinner and the second during a vote in the chamber just after he had resigned as Labour leader, when Mr Spring asked him if he would assist in concluding an arrangement relating to a staff member.

"He may have mentioned it to me on that night, but I have no recollection of it. I have recollections of receiving a number of anonymous letters and notes regarding Deputy Burke. I think our party headquarters gave at least one of those to the tribunal."

Mr Pat Rabbitte (DL, Dublin South-West) suggested that it was stretching credibility a bit that the Taoiseach could not remember a recent encounter with Mr Spring.

Mr Ahern said that the only occasion Mr Spring could have mentioned the matter to him was during their brief discussion.

Asked by Mr Rabbitte if he knew or suspected that other payments were made to Mr Burke, the Taoiseach said he had no knowledge of any. "But I cannot say there were not, quite frankly."

On opposition demands for an inquiry into the latest revelations, Mr Ahern said it was a matter for another day to determine what would be the best way of doing it.

He said that his discussions with Mr Burke before appointing him a minister were on the basis that he had done nothing wrong. "I do not recall if I asked about any individual company."

He said that at the time Mr Burke made his Dail statement he had asked the party's general secretary if Fianna Fail had received £10,000 from him. "There was no intrigue about it. I was not checking anything else. Maybe I should have gone over and went through the books. At least we have books. I did not do it."

Referring to Mr Dermot Ahern's inquiry, which had been undertaken before the appointment of the Government, the Taoiseach said many allegations were surfacing in relation to Mr Burke at that time.

He said that he himself had made some inquiries, but did not get anywhere, so he had asked Mr Ahern to check out some matters. He had asked him to go to London to interview Mr Joe Murphy, the principal in JMSE. "This was his specific task, he was not doing anything else."

He added that Mr Ahern's report, submitted to the Flood Tribunal, would show that Mr Murphy denied giving any money. "On the day I appointed Mr Burke, the information I was working on from my own sources and from his (Mr Ahern's) sources is that no money was given. Subsequently, it was found that that was not the case. In fairness to Dermot Ahern, I asked him to do a job, and insofar as he could do the job, he did the job."

Asked by Mr John Gormley (Green Party, Dublin South-East) if he could bring himself to state unequivocally that Mr Burke's behaviour was unacceptable and condemn it, Mr Ahern replied that the tribunal would judge Mr Burke's actions.