MICHAEL NOONAN has dismissed a claim from a former Fine Gael councillor that the minister "ran" from him as he tried to discuss abuse allegations at a foster home in the south-east.
The finance minister says he rejects the claims made to the Irish Examiner by Garry O'Halloran, a barrister who was a chairman of the South Eastern health board, which governed the jurisdiction where the alleged abuse took place.
O'Halloran claims he resigned from Fine Gael after Noonan, who was the Minister for Health at the time, literally ran away from a meeting where the concerns were due to be discussed.
This afternoon the claims were put to Michael Noonan who said the matter was one for the then-junior minister at his department, Austin Currie, who had responsibility for children's issues.
He denied Mr O'Halloran's claims - saying he presumes the pair met during his tenure, but could not remember him.
He says an arrangement was made for the matter to be discussed with the then-junior minister Currie.
"I understand there is no proof on either side and I don't want to say anything that gets me into legal difficulty to satisfy your curiosity," the minister said this afternoon.
You can hear the minister's answer in full here:
