The chairman of the National Millennium Committee has said he was not acting on behalf of the Taoiseach when he offered a job to the journalist who first reported the alleged £50,000 donation to Mr Padraig Flynn.
Mr Seamus Brennan was responding to a statement from the Labour TD, Mr Pat Rabbitte, who said Mr Jody Corcoran, of the Sunday Independent, had been approached about the job while he was working on the Gilmartin/Flynn story last September.
The Taoiseach has referred Mr Rabbitte's statement to Fianna Fail's legal advisers, according to a spokesman, and his only comment last night was that he hoped Mr Rabbitte found "something better to do" over the weekend.
The statement from the Labour TD said that it appeared the contract position had not been advertised by the Millennium Committee, which is under the aegis of the Taoiseach's Office, and added: "I am asking the Taoiseach to make a statement concerning the circumstances surrounding the offer to the journalist, who happened, perhaps coincidentally, to be about to write a story that has since enveloped the Government in controversy and may yet threaten its survival."
The advertising of the position had not been an option, given the time-scale, Mr Brennan said. He had instead discussed the job with "about half a dozen different journalists and public relations people" and had been "pleasantly surprised when Mr Corcoran expressed a possible interest".
The remuneration package for the two-year contract was within the range of £55,000 to £75,000 a year, according to Mr Brennan. However, after discussions spread over a number of weeks, Mr Corcoran had decided against it. The position has since been filled by another Independent group journalist, Mr Tom Rowley.
Mr Corcoran, who was recently appointed political editor of the Sunday Independent, said last night that he did not believe the job offer had been influenced by his work on the Gilmartin story.
