Former minister for agriculture Joe Walsh told the Mahon tribunal he was surprised when he learned that a Fianna Fáil dinner he attended in Cork in 1994 was actually a fundraiser.
The tribunal heard yesterday that Mr Walsh attended a private dinner at the home of accountant Niall Welch at Glanmire on March 12th, 1994.
The dinner was also attended by men from Cork's business community including developer Owen O'Callaghan; Noel C Duggan; then Fianna Fáil chief fundraiser Des Richardson; Pat Farrell, then general secretary of the party, and Roy Donovan, a fundraiser.
The then taoiseach, Albert -Reynolds, also attended the meal.
Luton-based developer Tom Gilmartin had said that Mr O'Callaghan told him he gave Mr Reynolds £150,000 at a dinner in Cork about the same time as the fundraiser.
Mr Gilmartin said Mr O'Callaghan told him that the money was exchanged in the bedroom of his home at 3am and that the next day, Mr Reynolds was flown back to Dublin by helicopter.
Mr Walsh, who retired from politics last year, said he believed the dinner had been organised to raise the profile of the party, which had "lost a lot of ground in Cork since the demise of Jack Lynch".
"I was minister for agriculture and I was the only minister in Cork city or county at that time," he said.
"I was invited there, I assume, to give a bit of status to the occasion."
He said Mr Reynolds spoke to the guests about the economy and there was informal, general banter.
Counsel for the tribunal Patricia Dillon SC pointed out that at least £50,000 was raised on the night and lodged in the Fianna Fáil Bank of Ireland account.
No individual receipts were ever issued for the funds, she said.
Ms Dillon asked Mr Walsh if he saw any fundraising at the event. He said he did not.
"Do you remember there being any sign of envelopes being left lying around the table?" Ms Dillon asked.
"None whatsoever," Mr Walsh replied.
Ms Dillon asked if he was surprised when the tribunal papers sent to him showed the event was a fundraiser.
He said he was.
"I was surprised full stop to get documents from this august body at all," he said.
