Taoiseach Bertie Ahern helped the Manchester-based businessman behind the controversial 1990s Phoenix Park casino project, Norman Turner, to obtain an Irish passport in 1994, it emerged last night.
In the same year Mr Turner gave $10,000 in cash to Mr Ahern's political fundraiser Des Richardson. Mr Ahern was minister for finance at the time.
The information about Mr Ahern's role in facilitating the passport application was revealed by Fine Gael environment spokesman Phil Hogan, who elicited the information through a series of Dáil questions.
Mr Hogan said the information meant there was a close relationship between Mr Ahern and Mr Turner which was completely at odds with the Taoiseach's claim that he opposed the casino project in government and opposition.
"The timing of the issue of the passport is significant given what we now know about financial transactions involving Mr Ahern and his associates during 1994," said Mr Hogan.
He added that the Mahon tribunal had heard that Mr Ahern's fundraiser, Des Richardson, was given $10,000 by Mr Turner in 1994 and that on August 8th, 1994, the day before the passport was issued, Mr Ahern lodged £20,000 into the bank from what he has described as savings of £50,000.
"The Taoiseach must now make a full and honest statement about his relationship with Mr Tuner.
"This new information also raises new issues for Mr Gormley and Ms Harney and they must confront Mr Ahern with this new information. I will be passing this information to the Mahon tribunal to assist them in their inquiries," said Mr Hogan.
In response a Government spokesman said that Mr Ahern had facilitated Mr Turner in obtaining a passport in the same way as TDs of all parties did as a normal practice. He pointed out that last year 6,200 passports were dealt with through the offices of Oireachtas members.
The spokesman added that Mr Turner was legally entitled to hold an Irish passport as his mother was born in Cork in 1929.
"To suggest a sinister or inappropriate motive is totally wrong and mischievous," he added.
During the 1990s Mr Turner, who was based in Cheshire, was part of the Sonas consortium which was seeking to build a controversial casino and conference centre in the disused Phoenix Park racecourse. A former school friend and long time associate of Mr Ahern's, businessman Robert White was also part of the consortium.
During 1993 and 1994, Mr Ahern and others attended a number of fixtures at the Manchester United grounds as a guest of Mr Turner. There was intense local opposition to the planned Sonas development and at the outset of the 1997 general election campaign, Mr Ahern issued a statement saying there "will be no casino, as proposed, at the Phoenix Park racecourse".
Last November Mr Richardson told the Mahon tribunal he was given $10,000 in cash by Mr Turner in April or May 1994, while attending a football fixture in Manchester as a guest of Mr Turner. He said the money was for Fianna Fáil and that Mr Ahern was not in Manchester on that occasion.
Meanwhile last night the Taoiseach attributed his U-turn over the timeframe facing the Revenue Commissioners in dealing with his tax affairs to the fact that he initially picked it up incorrectly from "his people", according to a Government spokesman. Last week Mr Ahern was emphatic that the Revenue could not finalise his application for a tax clearance certificate until the Mahon tribunal had completed its work.