A long-running tribunal delivered a damning indictment of the former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern yesterday, saying his version of how he came by large sums of money while in office was "untrue".
The report said corruption "affected every level of Irish political life" and those "with the power tostop it were frequently implicated in it".
Ahern, previously regarded as one of the heroes of the Irish peace process, is now likely to be expelled from the Fianna Fail party he triumphantly led to three general election victories.
Allegations of widespread corruption have often been made against Fianna Fail. But the report, which pulled no punches in making it clear it did not accept Ahern's evidence, went further than many had expected. It stopped short of accusing Ahern of corruption but only because it could not identify how the €165,000 ($268,500) in question had reached him, despite 15 years of investigations at a cost €250 million.
It rejected many parts of the evidence given by Ahern, including his assertion he had won big betting on horses and had received other amounts from "dig-outs" contributed by friends and supporters.
The tribunal, led in Dublin by Judge Alan Mahon, concluded: "Much of the explanation provided by Mr Ahern as to the source of the substantial funds was deemed by the tribunal to be untrue."
Ahern was forced to leave office in 2008 amid growing discontent at his answers to the tribunal, and mounting allegations of irregularities in his personal financial affairs.
The indictment is a major blow to a party which was decimated in the last election.
