TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY was pressed today on whether he and Fine Gael have been “too close” to businessman Denis O’Brien.

In the video below, Kenny takes a moment to clarify the question asked by Ann Cahill from The Examiner, but quickly responds to say he has not had dealings “at all” with the billionaire, adding:

What happened in the past is in the past.

He was speaking to reporters during his arrival to a meeting of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean with EU officials in Brussels, taking place over the next two days.

Responding to other questions, the Taoiseach stressed that the the purpose of the inquiry into the certain transactions at IBRC is to deal with all ‘assertions and allegations in a way that keeps public confidence in focus’.

He said “it’s not going to be easy work”, but the Government is committed to providing adequate resources and expertises to the inquiry.

Kenny added that the information Sinn Féin deputy Pearse Doherty revealed to the Dáil yesterday had been sent to his office and referred to the Attorney General, who confirmed it would be covered under the inquiry’s terms of reference.

Read: Catherine Murphy did NOT abuse privilege with those Denis O’Brien comments >

More: After several rows, Sinn Féin votes against IBRC inquiry – but it’s still happening >