Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is to resume giving evidence to the Mahon tribunal today concerning his personal finances.
Mr Ahern, who last appeared before the tribunal in September, is to be asked about two collections he has said were made for him in December 1993 and October 1994, as well as money he said he was given after a dinner in Manchester also in 1994.
The tribunal has over recent weeks heard evidence from a number of witnesses who said they gave money to Mr Ahern.
His close associate, the former Fianna Fáil fundraiser Des Richardson, said he and Mr Ahern's solicitor, the late Gerard Brennan, organised the first collection, totalling £22,500, with a view to helping Mr Ahern settle legal bills arising from his separation.
The tribunal was told the contributors were: Padraic O'Connor, Michael Collins, the late Fintan Gunne, the late Paddy Reilly, Mr Richardson, Jim Nugent, David McKenna and Charlie Chawke. Apart from Mr Collins, Mr Richardson and Mr O'Connor, all the surviving contributors said they made cash donations derived from personal cash.
Mr Richardson paid by cheque, although he said he asked the others to pay in cash. Mr O'Connor said the payment, from NCB, was by way of cheque and was intended as a payment towards Mr Ahern's constituency expenses.
Mr Collins, who lives in Australia, was to give evidence but has not, for reasons that have not been explained.
Mr O'Connor said he was not a personal friend of Mr Ahern's and insisted he was never asked to make a personal contribution towards Mr Ahern's personal finances, as stated by Mr Richardson.
The tribunal was told the second collection, totalling £16,500, came from four men who discussed Mr Ahern's accommodation arrangements after closing time in the Beaumont House pub, Dublin, in 1994. The contributors said they did not know of the earlier collection, and independently decided that their collection should also be cash.
The tribunal was told by Dermot Carew, Joe Burke, Paddy "the plasterer" Reilly and Barry English that they raised the cash from personal cash and without making withdrawals from bank accounts. Mr English, who gave £5,000, said he had only met Mr Ahern three or four times before he made his contribution.
The witnesses said they contributed the money to assist Mr Ahern place a deposit on a house. They said they were not aware at the time that Mr Ahern had £70,000 on deposit.
A long-time friend of Mr Ahern's, Senator Tony Kett, said he came into the pub on the night the money was handed to Mr Ahern, and was told by him what had happened.
He also said he attended the 1994 dinner in Manchester at which Mr Ahern said he was given money. He said he was told afterwards by Mr Ahern that he had been given money.
The tribunal also heard evidence from John Kennedy, who is based in Manchester. He said he attended a dinner in that city in 1994 at which he donated £1,000 in cash towards a collection for Mr Ahern.
Asked for the reason for the collection, Mr Kennedy said he was told by the organiser beforehand, the late Tim Kilroe, that there would be a collection for Mr Ahern. "He was minister for finance and he had just parted from his wife and it was a terrible thing that the minister for finance for the Irish nation didn't have a bob in his pocket," he said.
A report given to the tribunal on Mr Ahern's behalf in April 2006 said Mr Kennedy could confirm the fact of the Manchester collection. Mr Kennedy said he was not contacted prior to the submission of this report to the tribunal.
