The Taoiseach is defending the contact he made with an AIB official to inquire about transactions under investigation by the Mahon Tribunal.

Jim McNamara told the tribunal that Bertie Ahern contacted him this year to ask about particular lodgements being investigated by inquiry, told Jim McNamara to tribunal.

Mr. Ahern was marveling what conclusive evidence the bank had that three specific lodgements made in the 1990s were foreign exchange transactions.

Mr. McNamara accepted that it was a very unusual request from the Taoiseach.

The shares in cement firms dropped precipitously on Wednesday, after the government’s trashing some duties to help imports and rein in domestic prices.