Mr Ben Dunne issued the instruction that work worth £1.4 million on his home and that of Mr Michael Lowry be wrongly described as work for Dunnes Stores, Naas District Court heard yesterday.

Mr George Maloney, authorised officer to Faxhill Homes, said the architect who worked on both jobs, the late Mr Peter Stevens, of Peter Stevens & Associates, told him Mr Michael Irwin instructed him to issue certificates wrongly describing the work as being on Dunnes premises.

However, Mr Maloney said, Mr Irwin indicated to him that it was Mr Dunne who issued the instruction to Mr Stevens. Mr Irwin is Dunnes Stores group former chief accountant. The court has heard that four invoices from Faxhill Homes relating to work worth almost £400,000 on Mr Lowry's home in Holycross, Co Tipperary, were issued to Dunnes Stores and stated the work was conducted on a Dunnes premises in the Ilac Centre, Dublin.

The court has also been told that invoices from Faxhill Homes relating to work valued at £1 million carried out on the home of Mr Dunne in Castleknock, Co Dublin, were invoiced to Dunnes Stores as work on a Dunnes' subsidiary food plant in Newbridge Industrial Estate, Co Kildare.

Faxhill Homes conducted work on both Dunnes' premises at the time. Mr Maloney has said he was told by Faxhill director Mr John Tierney that the incorrect invoices were issued because certificates to that effect were received from Mr Stevens.

Faxhill Homes and its directors, Mr Tierney and Ms Jennifer Tierney, are facing more than 25 charges under company law, including failure to keep proper books of account and issuing of false documentation to third parties. They have already pleaded guilty to three charges.

Mr Maloney told Mr Colm P. Condon, for the accused, that he amended his report on Faxhill Homes after Mr Irwin strongly objected to the inclusion of a reference to a comment he had made. The comment was that work valued at up to £500,000 might have been carried out on the home of Mr Denis McCoy by Faxhill Homes.

Mr Irwin wrote to Mr Maloney in January 1999 saying he was "bitterly disappointed" that the comment was included in the report. "I would like to set the record straight," Mr Irwin wrote. He said he did not know if the work carried out on Mr McCoy's home was worth "£5, £10, £50,000, £200,000, £300,000 or £1 million". He said the figure should have been accurately established by Mr Maloney and Mr McCoy.

Mr Maloney said the documentation held by Faxhill did not allow him establish how much was spent on the residence. The documentation did show one payment of £55,000. He said it was "notable" that Mr Irwin withdrew his comment following a conversation with Mr McCoy.

Mr Maloney said he was advised that Mr McCoy was a "close associate and adviser" to Mr Dunne. He shared directorships with Mr Dunne and was "represented to me as being an employee of Dunnes Stores".

This comment was not explained. The work on Mr McCoy's home was carried out in 1996, according to the Faxhill documentation.