Mary Harney has denied allegations she shut down an inquiry related to tax evasion.
The former Progressive Democrat party leader and Tanaiste has tonight issued a statement insisting that she had made every effort to facilitate the fullest inquiry into the affair and had backed the senior official first appointed in 1997 to carry out the investigation.
In a statement released this evening Ms Harney said:
“At no point was I ever influenced by any of the many names brought to my attention by the Authorised Officer in the course of his seven year investigation. On the contrary and the minutes of both the Department and the Authorised Officer will confirm that I made it clear, regardless of who might have been involved, it had to be investigated correctly and thoroughly.”
Meanwhile, a number of former politicians named under Dáil privilege by Sinn Féin into alleged tax evasion have angrily rejected the claims.
Five of the six people named by Deputy Mary Lou McDonald have since issued denials after their names which were in a dossier sent to the Public Accounts Committee were read into the Dáil record.
Labour TD Joe Costello has now called for Deputy McDonald to be removed from the committee.
Ray MacSharry, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, Gerry Collins and Richie Ryan all say they have never held an account with either Guinness & Mahon or Ansbacher Banks.
Des O'Malley also denied having an account at Ansbacher, and says he was only a customer of Guinness & Mahon because it managed a blind trust for him while he served as a minister.
