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Dig-out 2: Dig Harder
Read more about: Bertiegate, Corruption, Scandal, Tribunals
Not much to do but offer a quick outline of another mind-boggling day at Mahon. The 2nd dig-out in September 1994 came while Bertie Ahern had the use of an apartment at St Luke’s, a ministerial salary, and had savings in AIB and the Irish Permanent Building society totalling more than £70,000 (add: Gavin says that’s an underestimate). Dermot Carew, Barry English and Paddy “the Plasterer” Reilly contributed respectively: £4,500; £5,000 and £3,500. Joe Burke gave £3,500. All donations in cash. No paper record. Barry English was 28 years old and had £5,000 in cash handy. None of them knew about the previous Christmas dig-out. Bertie says he took the total “loan” (£16,500) plus the Manchester money and lodged £24,838.49. In a new account. Which just so happens to be £25,000 sterling under one plausible bank transaction. As Miriam Lord says: It’s a pity Bertie’s Ministers can’t be frogmarched down to Dublin Castle one of these days and forced to sit and listen.
A few updates:
1. FF Senator Tony Kett has no memory of seeing the £8,000 raised at the Manchester nixer — his source is Bertie Ahern.
2. Dermot Carew owned the Beaumont House pub where the 4 decided on one Saturday night in September that Bertie would only accept cash — the same conclusion as the different set of contributors to the Christmas 1993 dig-out.
3. The only criticism of Bertie’s living arrangements that Joe Burke could cite dated back to the FF leadership contest, 2 years earlier.
4. A classic quote from Joe Burke: “Who knows why a sequence of events happens at different times?”
It would seem prudent for the Mahon - and other Tribunals - to have their powers extended to prosecute all those found guilty of obstructing; lying; taking & paying bribes (or Dig-Outs); and to impose custodial sentences & fines.
The Revenue should be equally empowered to issue proceedings to recover tax on these cash payments.
In order to facilitate the examination, Polygraph Tests (lie-detector) should be allowed & available as evidence when Ahern & others continue to prevaricate and lie.
The media, including this blog article, shouldn’t report that these dig-outs happened. It is merely a claim by some witnesses. It is up to the Tribunal to report on whether the dig-out is a fiction to cover up for dollar donations.
Perhaps there were no digouts.
Aaron, you might be familiar with the methodological principle that when competing explanations for an event are present, one should choose the simplest. Bertie has this amazingly elaborate story for the dig-outs, much of it involving events beyond his control except when he was being handed the envelopes filled with cash. The tribunal has an alternative story that he got single payments of $45,000 and £25,000 sterling, and deposited them. I know which one I believe. But for now the only thing is to document the more elaborate explanation.
P O’Neill,
I think I was being a bit too pedantic. My concern with with sentences such as:
“Joe Burke gave £3,500.” and “Barry English was 28 years old and had £5,000 in cash handy. ”
That may or may not be true, but all we have to go on is their word (and/or Bertie Ahern’s word); as I’m sure you’d agree. I suppose you were being sarcastic, but there is a danger that this sort of mistake is repeated a lot more. For example, RTE report that these dig outs happened and that the only question mark might be why it happened. It would be better if RTE and others clearly reported simply what happened at the Tribunal, e.g. “Mr/Ms so-and-so said that such-and-such happened.” It’s not RTE’s job to decide which evidence is actually accurate evidence.
Bertie was very clever. He got his version of events out to Bryan Dobson over a year before the tribunal would get to the evidence. So it has seeped into the ether as “fact”, biasing the reporting as you describe. It’s as if the leak actually helped him get ahead of the story. Funny that.
Are you saying that the RTE “Interview” was orchestrated by Bertie’s PR team and rehearsed with Bryan Dobson - on the basis that FF & the government control RTE - the staffing thereof and the editing of all “News”?
Certainly, Dobson never laid a glove on Bertie & it was significant that the same Bertie, inarticulate to a fault, seemed to be able to respond —
- WITHOUT NOTES!