THE Taoiseach has been compelled for the second day in a row to deny incorrect suggestions" that he gave conflicting evidence to the Dunnes and beef tribunals concerning the nature of his involvement in fund raising for Fine Gael.
He was responding to calls from the PD leader, Ms Harney, and the Fianna Fail Chief Whip, Mr Dermot Ahern, to account for the apparent conflict in his evidence.
Mr Bruton said the evidence he gave to the beef tribunal related to normal national fund raising arrangements before he became party leader "and not to what I was required to do to deal with the party's financial crisis in 1991, and again, more acutely, in 1994."
Contrary to reports, he continued, he also indicated in his evidence to the beef tribunal that, as party leader, he would be concerned with national fund raising, and it flowed from that he would be aware of contributions with which he was directly concerned.
When the financial difficulties of 1991 and 1994 were overcome, normal arrangements were resumed, and those involved in party fund raising "do not now normally inform me, as party leader, in any regular or systematic way of the amount of the donations received from particular businesses", Mr Bruton said.
The Taoiseach's statement however does not entirely reconcile the two different versions of the leader's role in party fund raising given to the two tribunals of inquiry.
Asked at the beef tribunal on June 22nd 1990 if he as leader, or other politicians within the party, were made aware of the particular political contributions made by a company or person, Mr Bruton replied. "No. Now that is not to say that one might not on a random basis become aware of contributions that are made by particular individuals, but there is no systematic informing of politicians of contributions, and in fact my understanding is that the... it has always been the case that this particular trustee [Mr Sean Murray] doesn't disclose the information to anybody as a general rule, not even the party leader of the time."
Mr Bruton referred yesterday to a different passage in his beef tribunal evidence where he stated that he was not aware "of any such seeking of funds during the period in which the tribunal is, with which the tribunal is concerned, because I was not a trustee of the party at that time. I did not become a trustee of the party nor was I in any way concerned with this national fund raising activity until I became leader of the party, so I would not be able to give you any assistance on that point."
